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Lionel Messi has hinted to his retirement as he shared with ESPN Argentina on Wednesday that Inter Miami will be the last club he plays for.
Messi will turn 37 on June 24 and will likely be playing in his final major international tournament with Argentina this summer in the Copa América. The 2022 World Cup winner hasn't set an official retirement date but said that Inter Miami will be his curtain call.
His contract with the Herons runs until the end of 2025.
Lionel Messi Inter Miami final club quote
"INTER MIAMI VA A SER MI ÚLTIMO CLUB", la frase de Leo Messi con #ESPN que dará la vuelta al mundo.
HOY no te pierdas el mano a mano con Messi por #ESPNenStarPlus (18:30 ARG) pic.twitter.com/QXtKGqQGyK— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) June 12, 2024
Leo Messi: “Inter Miami will be my last club, yes. As of today, it’s gonna be my last one”.
“I love playing football, I enjoy everything much more because I am aware that every time there’s less and less”, told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/xpKUxCB0lS— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 12, 2024
Messi said that winning the 2022 World Cup has given him a different outlook on his career plans and when he will hang up his boots.
"I've done this all of my life; I love playing ball. I enjoy the practices and the day-to-day, the games. Yeah, there's a bit of fear that it's all ending. It's always there. It was a difficult step leaving Europe to come here (to Inter Miami)," Messi said in the ESPN interview.
"The fact we won the World Cup helped, it helped a lot, to see things in another way. But I try not to think about it. I try to enjoy it. I do that more now because I'm aware that there's not a lot of time left. So, I have a good time with the club, being lucky having good teammates and friends at my side.
"I enjoy my time with the national team, where I also have good friends, too, and a lot. I enjoy those small details that I know I’ll miss when I stop playing.”
This is the biggest clue that Messi has given fans about his plans for retirement. If he stays true to his word and retires with Inter Miami when his contract ends that means we could only have 18 more months of watching the Argentine play.
Messi will look to defend Argentina’s Copa América triumph in the United States this summer. It would add to his collection of one World Cup, one Copa América, eight Ballon d’Or trophies, four Champions League titles and a litany of league and cup titles with Barcelona and PSG.
Argentina’s opening game of Copa América is against Canada on June 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
