Miami (AFP) – Lionel Messi has agreed to a contract extension with Inter Miami, Major League Soccer confirmed on Thursday. “Official: Leo Messi will continue to be an MLS player with Inter Miami,” the league’s Spanish language account on X said.
Inter Miami’s X feed posted a video of Messi signing a contract sitting at a table in the middle of the club’s new stadium, which is under construction, with the simple caption: “He’s Home.” The Argentine superstar’s new contract will see him remain with Inter through the end of the 2028 season, sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed to AFP. The 38-year-old World Cup-winner’s current contract expires at the end of the 2025 MLS season. A new deal had been viewed as a formality after club sources told AFP last month that the franchise had reached an agreement on an extension.
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Messi’s contract ensures he will remain in competitive action until and long after the 2026 World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tournament gets underway on June 11, with the final to be played at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19. Messi moved to Inter Miami in 2023 after an unhappy spell at Paris Saint-Germain, but the bulk of his stellar career was spent at Barcelona, where he played from 2004 to 2021 after coming through the youth system at the Spanish giants.
At Barcelona, he won the La Liga title 10 times and lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy on four occasions. In 2022, he led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar and has expressed a desire to try to retain the trophy next year. He has scored 114 international goals and also won the Copa America twice with Argentina, in 2021 and 2024.
Messi could play at a sixth World Cup next year, which would set a new all-time record, although he could be matched by long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is also just three goals short of Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 career World Cup goals. Argentina comfortably booked a spot at next year’s finals, finishing nine points clear at the top of the South American qualifying table.
Messi finished as the top scorer with eight goals, including a brace in what may have been his last competitive match on home soil against Venezuela two weeks ago. He was named the MLS Most Valuable Player in the 2024 season even though Inter Miami was eliminated in the playoffs. In 2025, he became the fastest player to reach 40 goals in MLS history. This season, Messi has led Miami back into the playoffs after finishing in third place in the Eastern Conference. He wrapped up Inter Miami’s regular season campaign with a superb hat-trick last Saturday in a 5-2 demolition of Nashville SC, leaving him with 29 goals from 28 matches to win MLS’s Golden Boot award.
© 2024 AFP
