Lionel Messi urged to abandon 'parody of football' in MLS with Inter Miami for three-month 'detox' before 2026 World Cup by Diego Maradona's old trainer

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi has been in the United States for two-and-a-half years. He has three more to come after agreeing a contract extension in South Florida that will take him through 2028. He and wife Antonela, along with their three children, are feeling settled in Miami.

Questions have, however, been asked - even by the man himself - of whether life in MLS will have him fully prepared for another major international tournament. That is despite Messi claiming Golden Boot honours in 2025 and firing Inter Miami into the MLS Cup final.

The football calendar in the U.S. means that Messi will be short on competitive action by the time that the 2026 World Cup rolls around - unlike rivals that will have completed another gruelling domestic and continental schedule in Europe.

Signorini, the legendary former fitness coach of the Argentina national team that once helped to make Maradona a World Cup winner and all-time great, has told Super Deportivo Radio of what Messi needs to do over the coming weeks and months: "Leo needs to prioritise the World Cup. He's caught up in this infernal record-breaking machine that I don't know the point of, because what he's doing now (Inter Miami) isn't football, it's a parody of football."

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There has been talk of Messi securing a loan move away from the Herons. Speculation regarding an emotional return to La Liga giants Barcelona has been played down, but the rumours refuse to go away.

Even if a stop-gap transfer cannot be agreed, Signorini wants to see Messi spend time away from the sporting bubble in Miami. He added: "With three months to go before the World Cup, he should take at least one month with his family to detox and come back with the hunger that the absence will surely cause him, but prioritise the World Cup and not think about playing every match from minute one."

Messi has stopped short of confirming his participation at the 2026 World Cup, telling SPORT of his concerns when it comes to building form and fitness ahead of an event that requires peak levels of both: "I don't want to be a burden, so to speak. I want to feel physically fit, to be sure I can help and contribute to the team. Our season is different from the European one. We'll have a pre-season in between, with few matches leading up to the World Cup, and we'll see how things go day by day to see if I really feel physically fit enough to be where I'd like to be and be able to participate.

"But obviously, I'm aware that it's a World Cup, and it's special, and that the World Cup is the biggest competition there is. So, I'm excited, but I'm taking it one day at a time."

The expectation is that Messi will form part of Lionel Scaloni’s plans when FIFA’s flagship tournament heads to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Signorini hopes that will be the case as, like Maradona, Messi is one of few performers on the planet who truly excites and entertains.

He said of Messi’s remarkable skill set, which has allowed him to rewrite the history books over the course of a record-shattering career: "There are no artists left in the world of football. There are athletes left who play the sport. An artist moves you, an athlete hardly does."

That could be considered a dig at Messi’s eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who is considered to have built his reputation on hard work and relentless drive - as opposed to the natural talents that Messi possesses. The duo continue to generate lively debate when it comes to the long-running GOAT discussion that 1986 World Cup winner Maradona also forms part of.