Messi receives unexpected support from the Super Bowl. Can he reach glory in the 2026 World Cup?

Is Lionel Messi the most famous athlete on the planet? It's a great question that can be answered by looking at the massive reach of the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi , who seems to be on everyone's lips.

It's Super Bowl week , and one of the protagonists of Sunday's big game hasn't hidden his love for soccer , revealing which players he follows and looks up to because they wear the iconic number "10" jersey .

"I'm a big fan of Lionel Messi , Neymar , Mbappé , who else wears it? Pelé . A lot of soccer greats. I mean it's just a number, but it's a pretty great number," he said this week leading up to Super Bowl LX .

His favorite to win the 2026 World Cup

The young quarterback also boldly made a prediction for the World Cup 2026 that will be held across the United States , Mexico , and Canada . He even revealed that he hopes to attend some of the matches.

"It's incredible that the World Cup is coming to the United States . There will be some games I can attend. I still remember the [ 2022 World Cup final ] where Messi won it against France, it was a great game, what a great sport."

If his prediction comes true, we would witness a team winning back-to-back titles for the first time since Brazil achieved consecutive World Cups with Pelé in 1958 and 1962.

" Messi is playing for Argentina , so I think Argentina can win the World Cup . I would obviously like the United States to win it, I have to support the United States ."