Franco Ottaviani got what he came for.
Lionel Scaloni signed a handwritten “Contrato para el Mundial 2030” at the door of his family home in the small Santa Fe town of Pujato, and the boy immediately turned the pressure on the man whose signature actually counts.
“Now it’s your turn, Chiqui Tapia,” Franco said into the camera, holding the paper up to the lens.
The clip travelled fast through Argentine social media, with outlets from La Nación to La Gaceta framing the moment as a fan verdict on Scaloni’s uncertain future with the national team.
Read also: Vinicius Jr's contract impasse opens door for Arsenal's record pursuit
The scene played out during the coach’s post-tournament break in Pujato, where his parents still live and where supporters have been arriving in steady numbers since Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain.
Franco brought a homemade sheet of paper titled “Contract for the 2030 World Cup”. Scaloni smiled, took a pen and signed, then greeted the group at the door, posed for photographs and put his name to shirts.
The real deadline is December
Scaloni’s actual contract with the Argentine Football Association runs until December 2026, and the coach has been careful not to promise anything beyond that.
“I’ll stay until December because I have a contract, and after that I’ll almost certainly step down,” he said in the days after the final, asking for time to think and adding that he wanted to speak with AFA president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia before deciding anything further.
Read also: Pogacar's fifth Tour de France title solidifies his place among cycling's legends
Tapia has been open about which way he wants it to go. Minutes before the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington in December 2025, he told Telefé:
“There will be a renewal, we are talking with his representative. The idea is to renew all the coaching staffs until 2030, when we have the next World Cup.”
Talks slowed once the tournament began and Argentina reached the final, and the AFA is now expected to give the coach time to decompress before returning to the table.
Stabile’s 124-match mark within reach
If Scaloni does sign on for 2030, a national-team record is well within reach.
Read also: Vinicius Jr breaks silence on Real Madrid future as Arsenal wait in the wings
He has taken charge of more than 100 matches in eight years as Argentina head coach; the all-time mark for the role, set by Guillermo Stabile between 1941 and 1961, stands at 124, and a run through the 2030 tournament, whose opening centenary matches are hosted by Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay before the main phase in Morocco, Spain and Portugal, would carry him past it comfortably.
Scaloni’s post-match press conference in New Jersey ended with the coach breaking off in tears before he could finish speaking, and he admitted he had not yet spoken to Lionel Messi about what he would do next.
Franco’s homemade contract is still waiting for its counter-signature. The one that decides Argentina’s next four years is due before December.
Read also: Infantino defends World Cup, accuses critics of 'hate and false rumours'
Read also: Norris claims first win as Hamilton's Hungarian GP frustration boils over
