Lionel Messi has said that Inter Miami will be the last club of his career.
The Argentina superstar joined the MLS side last year, and has made an enormous impact both on and off the field as he nears the one-year anniversary of his debut with the Herons.
Messi led Inter Miami to a Leagues Cup title last summer, and this year has started the season with an incredible record of 12 goals and 13 assists in just 12 MLS games.
There has been speculation over whether Messi, who turns 37 next month, would ever join another club after Inter Miami. Rumors have persisted about a return to Newell’s Old Boys, the Argentine club where he played as a child before moving to Barcelona at age 10.
But in an interview with ESPN, the superstar appeared to close the door on a move to another club after the Herons.
Asked if Inter Miami would be his last club, Messi replied: “Yes, as of today, it’s going to be my last club.”
Messi signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Inter Miami last year, taking him through the 2025 season, with a reported option to extend for another 12 months.
On his eventual retirement, he added: “I don’t think about it. I try to enjoy everything much more. There’s less and less to go, I want to have a good time at my club and in the national team, where I have great teammates and friends. And I enjoy the little details that I know that when I don’t play anymore I will miss.”
He added: “There is always a little fear that everything will end.”
Messi has been called into Argentina’s squad for the Copa América, which begins later this month in the United States. Argentina will be looking to defend its title from 2021, which it earned by beating Brazil in the final.
The Argentina legend has said he is open to continuing his international career through the 2026 World Cup, having previously indicated that his last World Cup would be in 2022.
Argentina, of course, emerged victorious in 2022, defeating France in the final as Messi lifted his first World Cup title.
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