Messi is about to set a historic record for American football, waiting for the 2026 World Cup

Messi is the No. 1 candidate to win the 2025 MLS Player of the Year award, to win the award for the second consecutive year, setting a record in American soccer history. The Argentine star also confirmed that he will participate in the 2026 World Cup.

A good year for Messi

In his latest interview, which aired on NBC News on October 28, Messi said he is having a good year playing for both Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Now, the only remaining race for the MLS Cup championship is after having just gone through the first match of the first round of the playoffs, winning against Nashville SC with a score of 3-1 on October 25.

Messi won the 2025 MLS top scorer title with 29 goals in 28 matches. He also became the number 1 candidate to win the title of best player of the season.

Photo: Reuters

In the 2025 MLS regular season (play-off round), Messi scored 29 goals and had 18 assists in 28 games. This achievement helped him to be shortlisted for the 2025 MLS Player of the Year award named after former American player Landon Donovan.

Messi will compete with the likes of Denis Bouanga (Los Angeles FC), Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC), Evander (FC Cincinnati) and Sam Surridge (Nashville SC). But none of them can match the 38-year-old Argentine's record of goals and assists.

Including the MLS Cup playoff first round matches that just took place, Messi has now scored 31 goals, while the two closest contenders for the title, Bouanga and Surridge, have only scored 24 goals. Messi has also won the MLS 2025 top scorer title.

Therefore, the 2025 MLS Player of the Year award is unlikely to escape Messi, giving him the chance to become the first player in MLS history to win the award two years in a row, after the first time in 2024.

If Messi helps Inter Miami win the 2025 MLS Cup, it will be an extremely successful year for him, after helping the Argentina team win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, becoming the top scorer in the South American qualifying round (scoring 8 goals).

Messi has also just taken a very important step to determine the future of his career, which is to sign a contract extension with Inter Miami until December 2028 at the age of 41. Thereby, becoming the center of the club's new project when launching the complex and stadium Miami Freedom Park in 2026 worth more than 1 billion USD.

World Cup 2026 milestone

Messi confirmed that he really wants to participate in the 2026 World Cup, but will have to wait and see how the preparation phase at the beginning of the 2026 season goes before deciding. He affirmed that the legend Diego Maradona is the GOAT (greatest player of all time).

Messi wants to go to the 2026 World Cup with 100% form to help the Argentina team

Photo: Reuters

"The World Cup is the dream of my life. It is the only thing I am missing in my career. I have been very lucky to win every title, both individual and collective, after winning the 2022 World Cup. I believe that the World Cup is the dream of every player. When you ask any player about their dream, they will say that it is to become a world champion," Messi expressed in an exclusive interview with journalist Tom Llamas on NBC News.

"Playing at the 2026 World Cup? I don't know yet, I want to be at the World Cup and be in good shape, to be an important part in helping the national team, if I am there.

I will evaluate it day by day when I start pre-season with Inter Miami, and I will see if I am really 100% fit, if I can contribute something to the team, to the national team, and then I will make a decision," Messi was cautious when talking about the possibility of participating in the 2026 World Cup.

However, the player also admitted: "Obviously I'm excited because we're talking about the World Cup. We just won the World Cup last time, and to defend that title on the pitch again would be great, because playing for the national team is always a dream, especially in official tournaments."

Messi also spoke frankly about the GOAT title that fans often call him. He said: "For us, Maradona is the greatest idol and the inspiration for everything he represents. Even though I was young and didn't see him play live much, Diego (Maradona) surpassed everyone. He will always be our greatest legend."

In other sports , Messi has praised legendary athlete Michael Jordan as the GOAT of basketball, or Nadal, Federer, Djokovic in tennis, and even LeBron James and Steph Curry (basketball) for their influence when playing at the top making the sport spectacular.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/messi-sap-lap-ky-luc-lich-su-bong-da-my-dang-cho-doi-world-cup-2026-185251028101719125.htm