FC Barcelona Icon Messi Calls Real Madrid ‘Best Team In The World’ And Talks Playing 2026 World Cup

FC Barcelona icon Lionel Messi called Real Madrid “the best team in the world” during an interview with Infobae.

As the greatest product of the Catalans’ famed La Masia academy, Messi regularly played against Los Blancos in some of the most thrilling installments of El Clasico ever witnessed by football fans.

Messi departed Camp Nou in 2021 when Barca president Joan Laporta failed to back up an election promise to renew the Argentine’s contract, which was influenced by the club not being able to make the numbers work and stay on the right side of Financial Fair Play limits.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner then fled to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer and played Madrid once more in a Champions League last 16, knockout stage defeat in March 2022.

And with Carlo Ancelotti’s men having lifted the big-eared trophy for the 15th time at Wembley last weekend, through a 2-0 victory over underdogs Borussia Dortmund in the final, Messi believes that this makes his former arch nemesis the strongest team on the planet.

“The best team is Real Madrid. They are the last Champions League champion,” Messi, now at Inter Miami, said.

“If it is due to results, it’s Madrid,” he added, before saying that if his choice were instead based on quality of play, then “[Pep] Guardiola’s Manchester City” gets the nod.

In the same interview, Messi confessed to having not seen the Qatar 2022 World Cup final his Argentina team won at the expense of new Madrid signing Kylian Mbappe’s France.

“My memories are all there. I remember what I remember. There are many things that perhaps escape me. But well, for now I’ll keep what I have without reviewing it,” Messi said.

“I didn’t see Dibu’s last play like most. I didn’t suffer it like everyone else,” Messi also pointed out, in reference to an excellent last gasp save that goalkeeper Emi Martinez made during the match, which lasted for 120 minutes of thrilling play including extra time and was eventually won on penalties.

This summer, Messi is set to help Argentina defend its 2021 Copa America title won against holders Brazil on their own soil in Rio, at a United States-held edition of the continental competition.

It could be his last international tournament, however, given he will turn 37 less month. But Messi isn’t ruling out playing at the 2026 World Cup as a world champion.

“It depends on how I feel, how I am physically, and being realistic with myself,” Messi said.

“There’s still a lot of time left… ‘a lot and a little’ … because it goes by quickly, but there is still some time and I don’t know how I will be at that moment. Age is also a reality that is there, even though it’s just a number”.

What increases the chances of Messi making the World Cup is that the matches he plays now in North America “aren’t the same as those I played when I was in Europe competing every three days, either in the Champions League or in the league, whether in France or Spain”.

“But it depends on how I feel and what I feel being alongside my teammates, and seeing if I am still up to the level or not… let’s see!,” he concluded on this.