Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have just become the first two men in history to play at six World Cups. The natural next question writes itself: could there be a seventh?

Their chances are low, but it isn’t impossible, and both men have left enough daylight for the question to be asked and to keep the hopes alive. The two careers have run in parallel for two decades, and now share this milestone in the same tournament.

Four years is a long time at the best of times, let alone in your forties, and will both players be able to hold on and feature on the world’s biggest stage again in four years?

Will Lionel Messi Play at the Next World Cup?

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Messi has been typically professional and guarded on the subject. Asked directly about 2030 after his Algeria hat-trick, he laughed off the idea before more considered answers followed later in the tournament.

Pressed again after his Austria performance, in which he became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, he settled into a familiar noncommittal stance, claiming he isn’t thinking that far ahead.

He told reporters: “I don’t know. The truth is, I’m not thinking about that right now.”

It’s the kind of answer you expect from a professional, media-trained footballer. The kind of answer that commits to nothing whilst also ruling out nothing either.

How Old Will Messi Be at the Next World Cup?

Messi is 39 during this tournament, not that it has had an effect on his performances. By the 2030 finals, he will be 43. There is a genuine pull factor for the 2030 World Cup: it is the centenary edition, and as part of celebrations Argentina will host a one-off match in Buenos Aires, a country that hasn’t staged a World Cup game since 1978. So for a player who has never been able to play in a World Cup on home soil, that could be a real incentive for him to keep going.

However, his Inter Miami contract does expire in 2028, and it remains to be seen whether he will extend, move clubs, or call time altogether on his stellar career. And surviving and playing in the MLS is a lot different to playing in a World Cup campaign at the age of 43.

Will Cristiano Ronaldo Play at the Next World Cup?

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Ronaldo has been more open and pessimistic about his own timeline. Speaking at a Tourism Summit in Riyadh, when asked whether this would be his last World Cup, he said: “Definitely yes. I will be 41 years old, and I think this will be the moment in the big competition. It’s probably one or two more years. I’ll still be at the game.”

His contract at Al Nassr runs out in 2027, with reports circulating about an executive role at the Saudi Club upon its expiration.

What Age Will Ronaldo Be at the Next World Cup?

The case against Ronaldo at 2030 is steeper than Messi’s. He’d be 45 by then, Portugal’s attack has begun to lean less on him for goals than it once did, and he has repeatedly framed this tournament as a farewell. However, you couldn’t put it past Ronaldo to keep playing until 2030.

The ex-Real Madrid forward has confirmed he wants to keep playing until he reaches 1,000 career goals. Whilst he isn’t far away from that milestone, he might need an extended contract to reach the target, and he may well keep going until 2030 to play in one last tournament, especially considering Portugal are one of the hosts.

Who Are the Oldest Players to Play at a World Cup?

The record book offers some perspective on just how rare this would be. Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary holds the record, turning out for Egypt against Saudi Arabia in 2018 at 45 years and 161 days, marking the occasion with a penalty save.

Colombia’s Faryd Mondragon is next, coming on as a substitute in 2014 at 43 years and 3 days, in what was also his farewell appearance. Cameroon’s Roger Milla remains the record-holder among outfield players, being 42 years and 39 days when he scored against Russia in 1994.

The Verdict

Most names on the list are goalkeepers, bar one. Milla’s record still sits three years younger than Ronaldo would be if he was to make it. History suggests longevity at this level belongs almost exclusively to those in the posts, which is precisely why one more World Cup campaign remains a long shot for two of the world’s greatest ever players.

It begins with a handful of people. Someone jumps to their feet, arms in the air, and then the person next to them follows, then the next, then the next, until a ripple of human hands is sweeping around an entire stadium like a tide rolling in from the sea.

The Mexican wave is one of sport’s most universally recognised rituals, a piece of collective theatre that can turn 50,000 strangers into a single, synchronised unit. It needs no instruction, no referee and no training; it just happens.

But where did it come from, why does it work the way it does, and what does Mexico have to do with any of it? The answers are more surprising than you might expect.

What is a Mexican Wave?

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In technical terms, a Mexican wave is what’s called a transverse wave: the spectators themselves move only vertically, standing up and sitting back down, but the wave they create travels horizontally around the stadium. The result, when viewed from above or from a camera on the far side, is a ripple of people moving in near-perfect unison, like a slow-motion breaker rolling along a coastline.

The mechanics are simple. A small cluster of fans in one section stands up with their arms raised, then immediately sits back down. The section beside them, seeing this, follows. Then the next section. Then the next. The wave is self-sustaining; each group of fans is simultaneously reacting to those just before them and triggering those just ahead.

It can take as few as 30 fans standing simultaneously to trigger a wave, with most going in a clockwise direction. The wave is, in short, a beautifully simple piece of crowd physics.

Where and When Did it Originate?

For many people around the world, it may seem like an obvious question. But the truth is considerably more complicated, and the real origin of the wave lies several thousand miles to the north, in the stadiums of the United States.

The strongest claim to inventing the wave belongs to a professional cheerleader known as Krazy George Henderson. Armed with a drum, a pair of cut-off jeans and an almost supernatural ability to animate a crowd, Henderson had spent years refining his craft at sporting events across North America.

On October 15 1981, at the Oakland Coliseum during a Major League Baseball playoff game between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees, he finally unleashed it on a major stage. After a couple of failed attempts, it clicked. The wave circled all three decks of the stadium multiple times. It was nationally televised, and Henderson claims that this was the day the wave was born.

From those American beginnings in the early 1980s, the wave spread rapidly through US sports culture, appearing at NFL games, College Football, Baseball and beyond. By 1984, Henderson had even led one at a football match at the Los Angeles Olympics. Mexican crowds picked it up too, took to it enthusiastically, and made it a fixture of their football culture.

Why is it Called the Mexican Wave?

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The name comes down to one tournament: the 1986 FIFA World Cup, held in Mexico. While the wave had been circulating through North America stadiums for several years by that point, it was the global broadcast of the 1986 competition that introduced the spectacle to the television audiences across Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond, most of whom had never seen anything like it.

To those watching from outside the Americas, the wave appeared to be a Mexican invention. The packed, passionate crowds at The Azteca and other venues performed it so often, and so joyfully, that it became inseparably associated with that summer. Broadcasters and commentators from English-speaking countries began calling it the Mexican wave, and the name stuck.

In North America, where people had been doing it for five years before 1986, it is still known simply as the wave. But for the rest of the world, Mexico got the credit, and Mexico got the name. It is perhaps one of the most ironic pieces of sporting branding in history: an American invention that became a Mexican icon.

Manchester United’s pursuit of midfield reinforcements has been well documented so far this summer, as the Red Devils look to build under Michael Carrick.

Carrick led United to a third-place finish in the Premier League and subsequent Champions League qualification as interim manager and has since had his contract made permanent.

Now, the English giants are looking to build a squad capable of competing in all four competitions this season and a major part of that refurbishment is in the middle of the park.

Casemiro has already departed following the expiration of his contract while Manuel Ugarte is set for a significant period of time on the sidelines after suffering knee ligament damage while playing for Uruguay at the World Cup.

The Red Devils have already seen an attempt to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest fail with the England star set to join rivals Manchester City instead. However, United are still making progress in their bid to reinforce their core.

Man Utd still pushing for Mateus Fernandes

One of the midfielders most strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer has been West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Red Devils, as well as Tottenham Hotspur, are in contact with West Ham and Fernandes’ agent “every day”.

“Man United and Tottenham are every day in contact with West Ham and every day in contact with the agent of the player, Jorge Mendes,” Romano said on his YoutTube channel. “I told you that the player is open to joining both clubs, Tottenham or Man United. This depends on the clubs, on who can go to West Ham and agree the fee.

“So, that’s the point. The transfer fee [is] around £85million-plus, and also [it is] important to mention payment terms, so details of the Mateus Fernandes story depend on the club. I keep telling you West Ham will sell to the club ready to spend the best money. Then, [it is] important to say, even after the injury of Manuel Ugarte, Manchester United remained in active conversations for Mateus Fernandes. They are not giving up on him.”

West Ham are not in a position where they have to sell Fernandes having bought the Portuguese from Southampton less than a year ago. However, the Hammers’ relegation to the Championship means it is going to be increasingly difficult for them to keep hold of the 21-year-old who is subject to significant interest from clubs in the Premier League and across Europe.

United would be the best destination for Fernandes

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After two seasons in the Premier League with two clubs, Fernandes has ended up being one of the star players in poor teams that have been relegated.

The 21-year-old featured in 36 of West Ham’s 38 Premier League matches last season, scoring three goals and registering four assists but is considered one of the most exciting young midfielders in Europe.

Now, he deserves the opportunity to see how he copes on the biggest stage playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

United are not only that but can also offer Champions League football this season, while at Spurs there is still some uncertainty around just how much improved they are going to be on the back of their disastrous campaign last term.

£85million is a significant transfer fee for a player who hasn’t yet proven himself in such an environment, but there is plenty of excitement about what the midfielder can develop into if nurtured properly.