Lionel Messi deal finalized after months of negotiations
Inter Miami shares news one day before playoff opener against Nashville
At age 38, this new contract likely represents Messi’s final professional playing agreement
Lionel Messi has agreed to a new three-year contract with Inter Miami, announced on Thursday (October 23, 2025), ensuring the football superstar remains with the Major League Soccer club through its planned move into a new stadium in 2026.
Messi's Contract Extension And Stadium Plans
Messi has finalized a deal that took several months of negotiations. The announcement comes just one day before Inter Miami’s playoff opener against Nashville. Messi’s team, which holds the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, is set to host Game 1 of their best-of-three playoff series on Saturday.
The club shared the news via a social media post featuring Messi signing his contract inside the under-construction stadium. The post read, "HE'S HOME," signalling Messi's commitment to the club's future.
The prospect of Messi playing for two or three more seasons is expected to significantly boost ticket sales at the new stadium being built near Miami International Airport. For over a year, Inter Miami has been selling ticket packages and accepting deposits for seats in the new venue, operating under the assumption that Messi would continue as a central figure for the franchise.
Impact On MLS; Messi’s Record-Breaking Performance
Messi’s decision to stay in Miami is significant for both Inter Miami and Major League Soccer as a whole. Last season, Messi was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), and he is widely expected to win the award again in 2025.
If he does, he will become only the second player in MLS history to win MVP twice and the first ever to do so in consecutive years. The only other two-time winner is Preki, who claimed the award in 1997 and 2003.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano commented on Messi’s influence: "To enjoy him, watching him enjoy doing the things he is doing, he’s very, very competitive and he tries to translate that to the team. The best way to help him is trying to do the right things ... he has to be comfortable on the pitch. He’s comfortable when things are working in the right way. With him, when we do things the right way, we’ll have many chances to have success."
This season, Messi won MLS’ Golden Boot by scoring 29 goals — five more than LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. He also recorded 19 assists, bringing his total goal contributions to 48, just one shy of Carlos Vela’s MLS record of 49 set in 2019.
Notably, Messi scored multiple goals in five consecutive games, becoming the first MLS player to achieve this feat, and set another league record with 10 multigoal games in a single season; the previous record was eight.
Team Changes, Contract Details And Messi’s Legacy
At age 38, this new contract likely represents Messi’s final professional playing agreement. He has spent more than half his life at the professional level, debuting for Barcelona as a 17-year-old in 2004.
It remains unclear how long Messi — an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and widely regarded as football’s biggest star — intends to keep playing. He led Argentina to World Cup victory in 2022, and Argentina will defend their title at the next tournament scheduled for June and July 2026 in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
Inter Miami’s roster will look different by 2026. Messi joined the club in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract that led to a reunion with former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suarez. Both Busquets and Alba are retiring after this season; Alba made his decision just months after signing a three-year deal. Suarez’s future is uncertain, with retirement considered a possibility.
Despite these changes, Messi will continue playing at least through 2026. The drawn-out contract negotiations concluded after several weeks of uncertainty about why final signatures were delayed. Reports value Messi’s initial Inter Miami contract at approximately 150 million US dollars, which quickly paid dividends when the club clinched its first trophy — the 2023 Leagues Cup—shortly after his arrival.
Last season, Messi won his first MLS MVP award despite missing 15 of Inter Miami’s 34 regular-season matches due to injuries or national team duties with Argentina. Even with those absences, Inter Miami secured its first Supporters’ Shield for having the league’s best regular-season record but was upset in the first round of playoffs.
The club has experienced a dramatic rise in global popularity since Messi joined. His pink No. 10 jersey has become MLS’ top seller, and he has expanded his off-field business ventures since moving to the U.S., including starring in a Super Bowl advertisement last year.
(With AP inputs)
