When you’re 39 years old and the end of your playing days are in sight, there is always a chance you wake up and realise the spark has gone out.
That is a question Lionel Messi will need to consider over this final week of the World Cup – whether Argentina successfully defend their title or not.
Whether it’s going out on a high or feeling he simply has nothing left to prove, the question is: will Messi decide to retire after the World Cup?
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami contract complicates retirement picture
The decision may not come down to purely footballing considerations, however.
Messi is the third highest-paid athlete in the world, according to Forbes, and while only some of that comes from his actual playing contract at Inter Miami, he is clearly worth a lot more while he is still active than he will be after he retires.
There’s a potential bit of future-proofing at play, too. Messi’s previous contract with Inter Miami was set to expire at the end of 2025, but he signed a new three-year deal to extend his stay instead.
That new contract will not run out until he is 41 years old, and in the absence of any other evidence in either direction, is the strongest suggestion that he sees himself playing beyond the World Cup.
However, that situation could be complicated by the actual terms of his deal, which contains a couple of out-of-the-ordinary clauses.
It was reported when he made the move to Florida that Messi would receive a share of the revenue brought in from MLS media partner Apple.
Crucially, Messi is also believed to be in line to receive ownership stake in the club upon his retirement under the terms of his initial move.
However, it is not clear what the exact terms of that arrangement are, or whether the extension he signed in 2025 changes any part of it.
For instance, it is not known what percentage Messi is due to receive; whether he would get it automatically, or merely an option to take up a share of the club; whether he must pay for it; or whether ending his contract early by choosing to retire would affect his standing.
For now, then, only Messi himself may know what his intentions are – and even those may be subject to change.