Inter Miami will be the last club Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old said on Wednesday, adding that he feels “a bit scared” thinking about the day he decides to retire.
Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with Major League Soccer until 2025 after arriving last summer following a spell at French champions PSG. He has been linked for a long time towards a return to his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys. But Messi told ESPN he will end his career in the US.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I like playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” said Messi. “I am not ready to leave football yet. I have been doing this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the daily things, the matches… And yes, there is always a little fear that it is all over.”
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing to defend the Copa América title with Argentina. The tournament starts on June 20 in the US.
Messi also responded to Kylian Mbappe’s comments about the quality of the World Cup compared to the European Championship. “Euro is a very difficult competition, probably more so than the World Cup,” Mbappé told L’Équipe last week.
“Well, everyone is prioritizing their tournament,” Messi said in response to the Frenchman’s comments. “The European Championship is obviously very important and has the best teams, but he leaves out three-time champions Argentina, five-time champions Brazil and two-time champions Uruguay. There are many world champions who say this is the most difficult tournament.
“The best teams play at the World Cup, which usually involves all the world champions. There is a reason why everyone wants to be a champion.”
Messi also said his World Cup win had helped put his career into perspective.
“The fact that we won the World Cup helped, it helped a lot, to look at things in a different way. But I try not to think about it. I try to enjoy it. I do that more now because I am aware that there is not much time left,” he said. “So I’m having a good time at the club and I’m lucky to have good teammates and friends by my side.”
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Messi returned to the international stage for the first time in six months, helping Argentina to a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a Copa América warm-up match last week. He was on the bench for the first half before replacing Ángel Di María in the 56th minute. A hamstring injury had prevented the forward from featuring in Argentina’s previous two Copa America warm-up matches against El Salvador and Costa Rica in March.
Argentina will take on Canada in Atlanta in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile in New Jersey on June 25 and Peru four days later in Miami.