Scaloni asks why everyone is planning Messi’s retirement

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said that it is too soon to start thinking about Lionel Messi’s retirement. The world superstar said he will retire before the 2026 World Cup, but looks in good shape in recent months, despite some injuries he had to deal with.

In Argentina’s last game of the World Cup qualifiers, the 36-year-old forward came on in the 53rd minute in the 1-0 win over Paraguay on Thursday and went close to scoring, rattling the woodwork with a free-kick in added time.

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“Leo is fine. He has been adding more and more minutes in training. We will make the decision tomorrow. It’s a matter of minutes, of how much he can play. If he’s well, you know what I think, he will play. We always try to play those that are at 100% or close to 100%. Today it is very difficult for everyone to be at their best in these games so there may be a variation with respect to the game against Paraguay.”

“The truth is that he is still active, let’s leave him alone, are we already retiring him?”