Lionel Messi aims to conclude his career at Inter Miami, yet he has no immediate plans to retire.
The 36-year-old, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, joined the Major League Soccer (MLS) club last summer after departing Paris Saint-Germain. This move followed a distinguished tenure at Barcelona, where Messi secured four Champions League titles and ten La Liga championships.
The 2022 World Cup champion with Argentina has a contract with Inter Miami extending to 2025, with an option for an additional year.
“As of today, I think it’s going to be my last club,” Messi stated in an interview with ESPN. “I’m not ready to leave football either,” he added.
Despite speculation about retirement, Messi’s current performance suggests otherwise. This season, he has scored 12 goals and provided 13 assists in 12 matches for the MLS leaders.
Messi is expected to carry this form into the upcoming Copa America, as Argentina aims to defend the title they claimed in 2021. The tournament will take place in the United States, where Messi has resided for the past year.
“It was a difficult step to leave Europe to come here,” Messi remarked. “The fact of having been world champion helped a lot to see things differently also.
“I love playing football. I enjoy the training, every day of the matches. [I am] a little afraid that everything will end. That’s why I enjoy everything much more, because I’m aware that there’s less and less to go and I have a good time at the club.
“I enjoy the little details that I know I’m going to miss when I don’t play any more,” he concluded.
