Former Barcelona footballer Hristo Stoitchkov said he believes that Lionel Messi will play the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite Messi's earlier statement where he had confirmed that the 2022 Qatar World Cup was his final World Cup. "Messi will...[defend] the title...in the World Cup," stated Stoitchkov. "I will see how things go," Messi had added in his earlier statement.