Lionel Messi has cast doubt over his chances of making it to next summer’s World Cup once again after revealing his plans to watch it as a fan in the ‘worst’ case.

The Argentina great, who will turn 39 in June, has previously suggested he could miss the tournament to make way for his country’s younger players.

And in a new interview with ESPN on the eve of Friday’s draw in Washington, D.C., Messi has again hinted that he could be left out of Argentina’s squad as the 2021 world champions bid to defend their crown.

‘I hope I can be there. I’ve said before that I’d love to be there,’ he said before adding, ‘at worst, I’ll be there watching it live, but it will be special.

‘The World Cup is special for everyone, for any country — especially for us, because we live it in a completely different way.’

Messi finally captured the one major honor that had eluded him in December 2022 after captaining Argentina to World Cup glory out in Qatar.

Since then, the Barcelona icon has moved on from a disappointing spell with French club Paris St-Germain and moved to the States to join Inter Miami, where he has been winding down his legendary career over the past two-and-a-half years.

After spending so long outside of Europe’s top five leagues, as well as the Champions League, Messi is no longer a guarantee to be in his nation’s World Cup squad.

‘The truth is we have extraordinary players, and it’s been shown for years — especially the desire and excitement since [Lionel] Scaloni took over,’ he continued.

‘The mentality everyone has. It’s a squad full of winners, with strong mindsets, who want to win more, and that’s contagious. You see it in training, in matches. You see them train and they give everything.

‘We’re an amazing group that gets along very well, but in training matches or certain drills, if they have to go hard, they go hard. Everyone gives their all, and that’s a huge strength of this group and this national team.

‘Scaloni and his staff built all of this. The day-to-day atmosphere comes from them.

‘New players keep appearing; aside from the ones already there, new faces keep coming in. When a group is like this, it’s easier for newcomers to fit in.

‘Argentina needs to take advantage of this moment. Coming off winning the World Cup gives you confidence and relief to prepare competitions differently.’

In 2024, Messi admitted there was a chance he would not make it to the soccer festival in the US, Canada and Mexico because of ‘age’.

‘It depends on how I feel, how I am physically and being realistic with myself,’ the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said. ‘And to know if I am up to the task of being able to compete and help the colleagues next to me.

‘There’s a while left and I don’t know how I’m going to be at that moment.

‘Age is also a reality that is there, although it is a number, the games that I am going to play are not the same as the ones I played when I was in Europe in competition, which were every three days, or in the Champions League or in the League where I was, both in France and in Spain.

‘But it depends on how I feel and how I feel when I’m next to my teammates and see if I’m still up to the task or not.’