"My career is coming to an end. What more could there be after this?" Messi said that in Doha, moments after dragging Argentina to a World Cup on penalties. Turns out, there was quite a bit more. There still is.
Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will line up at the 2026 World Cup in North America — the first players in history to appear at six different tournaments. Messi will be 39. Ronaldo will be 41. Neither is pretending this isn't the end.
Messi: Still the one Argentina builds around
The suggestion that Messi would walk off into the sunset after Qatar was understandable. He'd won the one thing missing from his CV, in arguably the greatest final ever played. But he kept going, left PSG, landed in Miami, and has been one of MLS's defining presences since.
More relevantly for Argentina: he captained them to Copa America glory in the US in 2024 and was the top scorer in South American qualifying. He's approaching 200 caps. And with 13 World Cup goals, Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16 is genuinely in range — particularly given Argentina's group, which pairs them with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. None of those sides are likely to be keeping Messi quiet.
Coach Lionel Scaloni has made it plain there's no question about his place. "I will do everything to make sure he is there," he said. That's less a tactical statement than a declaration of what Argentina is built around in 2026.
Ronaldo: Still first choice, still chasing the one that got away
Portugal's situation is more complicated. Roberto Martinez restored Ronaldo as the central striker after the 2022 tournament, and that remains the plan despite a goalless Euro 2024 that ended in the quarter-finals. At 41, Ronaldo is the most-capped men's player in history — 226 appearances — and he confirmed recently that this World Cup will be his last.
"I'm going to be 41 years old and I think it will be the moment," he said. Which is honest, if nothing else.
Portugal go into a group with Colombia, Uzbekistan and DR Congo — a favourable draw for a squad that, on paper, is good enough to go deep. The unresolved question is whether Ronaldo's presence helps or limits them in the knockout rounds, where Portugal have won just one match since 2006. Eight World Cup goals to his name, and not a single winners' medal.
- Messi's World Cup record: 26 appearances, 13 goals, one winner's medal (2022)
- Ronaldo's World Cup record: 5 tournaments to date, 8 goals, quarter-final best since 2006
- Both will make their sixth appearance — a record no other player has reached
- If Argentina and Portugal top their groups, they meet in the quarter-finals in Kansas City on July 11
That potential quarter-final collision in Kansas City is the match the tournament's schedulers must be quietly hoping for. Messi vs. Ronaldo, one last time, with a semi-final on the line. The odds on that specific outcome will be worth watching as the group stage unfolds.
Ronaldo lifting the World Cup at 41 would be the kind of finish that rewrites how entire careers get remembered. For Messi, a second winners' medal would simply be confirmation of what most already believe. The paths are different. The stakes are the same.
"I love playing football, and I'm going to do it until I can't anymore," Messi said. He's not there yet. Neither is Ronaldo. North America gets to be the stage for whatever comes next.
