Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has confirmed he held face-to-face talks with Lionel Messi after pictures of them together hit the headlines.
The meeting in Messi‘s home outside of Rosario has fuelled speculation that a decision is close to being made on his participation at the 2026 World Cup.
Scaloni refused to give any answers on that topic, but did drop his biggest hint yet that Messi isn’t ready to retire from international football.
“I live next door to him, so it wasn’t hard for me to travel,” he told the Argentine Football Federation’s YouTube channel.
“The photos gave me away, but I have no reason to deny it. Sometimes I do it by phone; other times, in person.
“We’ll see about the World Cup. We’re not talking about that because there’s still time and we don’t want to overwhelm him, but rather let him relax and make the decision he has to make.
“For now, we talked about other things.”
Scaloni then went on to make a statement that has given plenty of hope to those thinking Messi will play.
“Those of us who know him know he’ll never relax,” the World Cup winner said.
“He’s a born competitor, he always wants to play and win.
“That’s extremely important for his teammates, who see that he’s a captain who behaves that way and wants to come and play for the national team no matter where it is.
“That’s undeniable and it’s a legacy he’ll leave, one that the younger players coming up behind him have to take up.”
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