The chances for Lionel Messi to participate in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup are slim to none, but not entirely impossible. This is after the Argentine World Cup winner failed to help his side, Inter Miami, clinch silverware as Monterrey dumped them out of the CONCACAF Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
The Liga MX side beat Inter Miami 5-2 over two legs, with the second leg happening on April 11. Despite recovering from a muscle injury to start the game, Messi did little to inspire a possible comeback.
The loss will have ripple effects, given that the Cup winner would have earned a direct ticket to the 2025 Club World Cup.
However, Messi can still play in the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup, and here is how.
How Messi can still play in the FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA announced last year that it had revamped the Club World Cup format, starting with a 32-team tournament in 2025. The competition will now be held every four years. The United States of America was selected as the inaugural host of the new format.
Of the 32 teams, the USA will produce one as the host nation. The criteria for choosing which team will represent the USA is not yet known, but Inter Miami will be hoping to ride on the Messi wave to get that ticket.
In the detailed format as captured on FIFA’s website, UEFA will present 12 teams for the competition, four of which are the Champions League winners of 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The other eight teams will be selected based on club coefficients over the four years.
CONMEBOL(South America) will have six teams – four being the winners of the Copa Libertadores between 2021 and 2024, and the other two will be selected based on club ranking.
The CONCACAF region, where Messi is, will have four participants—the winners of the Champions Cup of the last four years, the same as CAF(Africa) and AFC(Asia). The OFC(Oceania region) will have only the highest-ranked club of its last four Champions League winners representing it.
There is no doubt that the record Ballon d’Or winner is the face of the league and his participation could increase fans’ interest in the games. Messi won three Club World Cups during his glorious spell at Barcelona.
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