If Messi decides to remain with Argentina until 2030, he would become the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup, at the age of 43, unless, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo opts to continue playing for Portugal.

Messi could not only add a new record to his long list, but he would have the opportunity to play one of the centenary matches that will be held in Argentina at the start of the next World Cup.

Spanish soccer expert Guillem Balagué does not believe this is the last time fans will see Messi at the World Cup.

“Even if you hear that it’s the end, I doubt it, but we’ll see. I only see him with the national team, simply because he enjoys it,” he said.

“I don’t see him at Inter Miami in the MLS, still performing and then saying that he’s done and that he will play the rest of his career with Inter Miami.”

Messi’s 2026 World Cup has been nothing short of sensational. He has scored eight goals in seven games (two goals behind the tournament’s top scorer, Mbappé) and has led Argentina to the final with a series of virtuoso performances.

Argentine coach Scaloni praised Messi as the best player of all time and said: “He is history, a legend. I feel proud, he is the best footballer the world has ever seen and reaching a final at 39 years old is something incredible, and that is why I said we should enjoy it.”

“We still miss Diego Maradona, but Messi is still with us, so we should enjoy it.

“I have no idea if this is Leo’s last game, you’ll have to ask him. We haven’t discussed it.”

His performances in North America continue a remarkable late resurgence of Messi’s World Cup career. Fifteen of his 21 goals in the tournament have come since he turned 35.

Having lifted the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, Messi showed that he had the motivation to keep going in 2026. The question is whether that will continue until 2030.

“I feel like he hasn’t said the last word yet,” Balague said. “He finishes the games, 120-minute games, at 39.

“In the first 90 minutes against Cape Verde, he covered 6.5 kilometers and 62% of them were walking.

“You can add a little more walking. The passion is still there. All that means he won’t leave the national team.”

There is also the factor of Messi playing in a World Cup in front of his audience.

The 2030 World Cup will have six host countries. While the majority of matches will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, at least one match will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. A world stage match in front of an Argentinian crowd may be too much for Messi to resist.

Messi himself hinted that the 2022 final would be his international swan song.

“I am very happy to end my World Cup journey in a final, to play the last game of a final. That is really very gratifying,” he said before the 2022 final.

“There are a lot of years from this year to next. I don’t think I can do that. To finish this way is brilliant.”

Evidently it has been shown that this is not the case. So, regardless of what can be said after the 2026 final, we must keep an eye on 2030.