VIDEO SHOWS: ARGENTINA CAPTAIN LIONEL MESSI GIVING INTERVIEW TO CATALAN NEWSPAPER DIARIO SPORT RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RELEASED NOVEMBER 11, 2025) (DIARIO SPORT - No Use Spain. Must not obscure logo.) 1. (MUTE) VARIOUS OF ARGENTINA CAPTAIN LIONEL MESSI ARRIVING FOR INTERVIEW AND SHAKING HANDS WITH JOURNALISTS 2. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING: "A World Cup is special. It's special to play with the national team and even more so in important and official tournaments. With everything that a World Cup means and after have winning it, it's special too. But as I was saying, I don't want to be, in inverted commas, a burden. I want to feel good physically and be sure that I can help and contribute to the team." 3. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING: "I'll have to see it day by day, to see if I really see myself fit enough to be as I'd like to be and be able to participate. Of course I'm aware it's a World Cup and its special. The World Cup is the biggest thing in terms of competitions. So, I'm excited but taking it on a day by day basis." 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING ABOUT BARCELONA: "After spending my whole life there (Barcelona), I didn't leave as I dreamed and imagined. As I said, I imagined playing my whole European career in Barcelona and then yes, come here (Miami) as I did, because it was what I wanted. So yeah, the farewell was a bit strange because of the whole situation." 6. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING: "But I think that the love from the people will always be there because of what I said, everything that we went through together. I think it was 16 years in the first team and 20 or 21 in total at Barcelona having arrived when I was 12 or 13-years old. So, it's a lot of time, lots of experiences and of course the love will always be there." 8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING: "I'm really looking forward to going there. I miss Barcelona a lot. The children and my wife are constantly talking about Barcelona and the idea is to go back to live there. We have our house there so that's what we want. I'm also really looking forward to going back to the stadium (Camp Nou) when it's finished. It will be emotional to remember all that happened there even though it will be a different stadium." 9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING: "I feel nostalgic and very emotional, I miss all those moments (victories in Barcelona) a lot and maybe I enjoy them now more than when they were happening because of the day-to-day dynamics, and what it meant to be playing match after match, to be always thinking about the next match without being able to enjoy what we were doing. So today, seeing it more calmly, relaxed, and from a distance after a couple of years have passed now, it's more enjoyable." 10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING ABOUT PSG: "It seems like Paris was hell but it wasn't really like that. When I said I didn't have a good time it's because I wasn't feeling good in what I was doing, in what I like doing, which is playing football. In the day-to-day, in trainings sessions and in matches, I wasn't feeling good. But then in terms of family, we had a very good experience. The city is amazing and we really enjoyed it." 11. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING: "I don't like losing at anything and every time I step out onto the pitch I do it to win or to try to win. I like to compete and that was our challenge here along with the other players that arrived (Inter Miami). We arrived in a club with very few years (of history) but which was rapidly growing and we wanted to make it a competitive club, to make it fight for titles, to support the club's growth and I think that's what we've done." 13. INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS 14. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA CAPTAIN AND INTER MIAMI PLAYER, LIONEL MESSI, SAYING: "On the pitch, as long as I'm up to it and feel good physically, I will keep playing in the same way, trying to compete and win, and give my maximum all the time. The moment when I see I'm not fit enough, struggling on the pitch and not enjoying, it will be time to call it a day. But right now I'm enjoying it and feeling good so that's where we are at." STORY: Argentina's captain Lionel Messi said he doesn't want to be "a burden" to his national team at the 2026 World Cup but hopes to be fit and contribute to the Albiceleste's title defence in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Speaking to Catalan sports newspaper 'Diario Sport' in an interview released on Tuesday (November 11), the 38-year-old forward said he was hopeful to play in next summer's tournament but was still approaching it on a day by day basis. In the interview shot in late October, Messi also said his Barcelona farewell felt strange and that he wasn't able to fulfil his dream of ending his European career at the Catalan club, adding he was nostalgic about his Barca days and that he and his family were eager to return to the city at some point. Messi joined Barca's youth academy at age 13 and went on to become the club's all-time top scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances. He was pushed out the door of the Camp Nou in 2021, however, when the Catalan club’s dire finances made it impossible to renew his contract. Having won 10 LaLiga titles, four Champions League crowns and three Club World Cups with Barca, Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023 following a two-year stint with Paris St Germain. Messi extended his contract with Miami in October and has previously said that the Major League Soccer club would likely be his last. While some of his high profile teammates such as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have announced their plans to retire at the end of the current MLS season, eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi said he still enjoys being on the pitch. "The moment when I see I'm not fit enough, struggling on the pitch and not enjoying it, it will be time to call it a day. But right now I'm enjoying it and feeling good," he said. (Production: Miguel Gutierrez) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. 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