FC Barcelona icon and current Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has decided his future until 2028 according to Catalunya Radio, which cited anonymous sources.
MLS via Getty Images
FC Barcelona icon and current Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has decided his future until 2028 according to Catalunya Radio, which cited anonymous sources.
The Argentine famously left Barca, the club whose La Masia academy he joined on the brink of adolescence at the turn of the Millenium, when his contract expired in 2021.
Joining Paris Saint-Germain via a free transfer in the summer of that year, as the Catalans’ president Joan Laporta failed to deliver on an election campaign promise to renew him, Messi was linked with a potential return to the Blaugrana as his two-term deal in the French capital expired in 2023.
In the end, however, Messi agreed to join Inter Miami, where he has played his soccer ever since while helping to boost the popularity of the sport in the United States.
Messi’s terms with the David Beckham and Jorge Mas-owned franchise expire at the end of the 2025, however.
As is always the case when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is set to become a free agent, his future is of great interest considering Argentina will defend its World Cup title on American soil in summer next year.
According to the Tot Costa programme on Catalunya Radio, however, and the Catalan journalist Xavi Campos, Messi has already decided his next step.
In short, he is reportedly on the verge of closing a renewal agreement with his current employers Inter Miami until 2028, which will take him to 41 years of age on June 24 of that year and beyond.
Whether he sees out the contract or not, this development shows that Messi is willing to continue playing past 40 like his generational rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who is still plying his trade for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and the Portuguese national team with whom he won the Nations League last month.
A playing FC Barcelona return looks impossible
If true, Messi extending with Inter Miami means we are unlikely to see him ever play at FC Barcelona again in its newly-renovated Spotify Camp Nou stadium or with the heir to his number 10 shirt Lamine Yamal. That being said, some sort of testimonial match for Messi as a tribute to his Barca legacy has often been touted, as has him taking some sort of behind-the-scenes role at the club in retirement.