Lionel Messi says Inter Miami will be his last team, talks retirement

As Lionel Messi prepares to lead Argentina in Copa América later this month, the thought of retirement is creeping up on the World Cup champion and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Messi, who turns 37 on June 24, says Major League Soccer club Inter Miami will be his final team. But he doesn’t have a set retirement date just yet.

“I’ve done this all of my life; I love playing ball. I enjoy the training, 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 Miami],” Messi said in an interview with ESPN Argentina on Wednesday.

“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.”

Asked if Inter Miami would be his last team, Messi replied:

“Yes, yes, I think so. Today I think it's going to be my last club.”

Messi and Argentina begin Copa América against Canada June 20, followed by matches against Chile on June 25 and Peru on June 29. He will also participate in Argentina’s friendly against Guatemala on Friday in the Washington, D.C. area before the tournament begins.

It will be Messi’s last Copa América – the next one is in 2028. But Messi has already opened the window of possibly playing in the next World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

“It depends on how I feel, how I am physically and being realistic with myself. And to know if I am up to the task of being able to compete and help the colleagues next to me,” Messi said last week to Infobae.com. “There's a while left and I don't know how I'm going to be at that moment.”

Messi joined Inter Miami in July 2023, signing a deal with the MLS club which lasts through the end of the 2025 calendar year.

Messi won his crowning achievement at the Qatar World Cup in 2022, which he previously stated would be his last World Cup.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Messi says Inter Miami will be his last team as retirement looms