Lionel Messi rules out one career as retirement from football edges closer

Lionel Messi has ruled retired becoming a shot manager aft his singular playing vocation comes to an end.

Messi has remained coy astir his aboriginal successful football but astatine the property of 37 is surely successful the twilight of his career.

His status volition people the extremity of an epoch arsenic Messi has fundamentally dominated the athletics implicit the past 2 decades, establishing himself arsenic 1 of the champion players successful history.

During his 16-year spell astatine Barcelona, Messi scored a staggering 672 goals successful 778 games and lifted 10 La Liga titles arsenic good arsenic 4 Champions Leagues.

After a agelong wait, Messi has besides go a regular trophy victor astatine planetary level, helping Argentina triumph the World Cup successful 2022 and back-to-back Copa Americas.

It remains to beryllium seen whether Messi volition beryllium astir to assistance Argentina support their World Cup trophy successful 2026, with the guardant admitting helium ‘doesn’t know’ if helium volition marque it to the tournament.

Messi is besides unsure what absorption helium volition instrumentality aft hanging up his boots but insists helium volition not spell down the way of shot management.

A big of erstwhile players person taken apical managerial jobs successful caller years – including Pep Guardiola, Xavi, Vincent Kompany and Mikel Arteta – but Messi does not mean to travel suit.

‘I don’t cognize what I would similar to bash aft I retire,’ Messi told Fabrizio Romano for the 433 app.

‘I’m not readying to go a manager. This is not thing I’m considering to do. I wouldn’t similar to beryllium a coach.

‘But everything is not wide yet. I americium idiosyncratic who likes to unrecorded time by time truthful for present I conscionable deliberation astir playing, grooming and having amusive connected the pitch.’

Discussing his planetary future, Messi added: ‘I don’t cognize [if I volition play successful the 2026 World Cup], they inquire maine a lot, particularly successful Argentina.

‘I anticipation to decorativeness this twelvemonth well, and commencement the twelvemonth having a bully preseason, which I didn’t person past twelvemonth owed to each the trips we had.

‘From there, I volition spot however I americium doing and feeling. We are close, but astatine the aforesaid clip it’s a batch of clip and thing tin hap successful football.

‘I don’t think, simply surviving the time to time without reasoning beyond.’

Since the summertime of 2023, Messi has been plying his commercialized successful the MLS with Inter Miami, scoring 33 goals successful 37 appearances for David Beckham’s club.

Asked however helium has adapted his crippled since arriving successful America, Messi said: ‘I’ve changed my benignant of play due to the fact that of the moment, the concern and my age.

‘I americium adapting a small spot to everything. I started reinventing myself and adapting to the league, which for maine was new.

‘I felt precise comfy from the beginning. To physique a nine you request to triumph titles. The nine was coming disconnected a atrocious twelvemonth successful MLS [in 2023] and a small spot aft my accomplishment we won Leagues Cup, the archetypal trophy for the club.’

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