FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi has finally agreed to a new contract with Inter Miami. The deal, which took several months to complete, secures the Major League Soccer club and the sport’s biggest icon, which is scheduled to move into a new stadium next year.
The deal was announced Thursday, the day before Inter Miami’s playoff opener against Nashville. Messi’s team, the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, will host Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Friday night.
The team announced the move In a social media post, One of the photos shows Messi signing the contract inside the new stadium, which is currently under construction. “He’s at home,” the team said in a post.
“I’m really happy to stay here and continue this project,” Messi said in a statement distributed by the club. “This project has not only been a dream, but has become a beautiful reality: playing in this stadium, Miami Freedom Park.” “I’ve been happy ever since I came to Miami, so I’m really glad I continued coming here.”
Inter Miami said the contract is a three-year deal until 2028. The idea that Messi will play a few more seasons will certainly boost ticket sales at the stadium the team is building near Miami International Airport. For more than a year, the team has been selling ticket packages and collecting deposits for seats at the new park with the assumption that Messi would remain with the franchise.
His decision to remain in Miami is a big one for both the club and MLS. Messi was the league MVP last season and is the overwhelming choice to win the award again this year, making him only the second player in league history to win the award and the first time he has won the award two years in a row. Preki won the MVP award in 1997 and 2003.
“To have fun with him, to see him having fun doing what he’s doing, he’s very, very competitive and he’s trying to reflect that on the team,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said Thursday. “The best way to help him is to try to do the right thing… He has to be comfortable on the pitch. When things are going in the right direction, he is comfortable.
“With him, if we do things the right way, we have a lot of chances to be successful.”
Messi wins MLS Golden Boot He scored 29 goals this season, five more than LAFC’s Dennis Bouanga and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. He also recorded 19 assists, and his total goal contribution of 48 was just shy of the MLS record of 49 goals set by Carlos Vela in 2019.
This season, Messi has scored multiple goals in five consecutive games, becoming the first MLS player to accomplish such a feat, and has also scored multiple goals in 10 games, also a new league record. The previous mark was 8 such games.
“We promised our fans a big dream to build an iconic club, a club that represents the passion, hard work and dedication of all those who came before us to create a Miami built on dreams,” said Jorge Mas, Managing Owner of Inter Miami. “Leo signing until 2028 is a tribute to our great city.”
Messi is 38 years old, so this contract is likely to be his last as a professional player. He has spent more than half of his life playing at professional level, making his debut for Barcelona in 2004 at the age of 17.
It is unclear how long Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and generally considered the sport’s biggest star, plans to continue playing. he is argentina 2022 World Cup Winnerhis country will aim to defend that trophy at tournaments to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada in June and July next year.
His Inter Miami team will certainly look different in 2026. Messi agreed to join the club in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year deal, eventually joining Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez, marking a reunion of long-time Barcelona teammates.
Busquets and Alba will both retire after this season. Alba decides to retire It’s only been a few months since we agreed to a three-year contract. Suarez’s future is uncertain and retirement is thought to be an option.
But either way, Messi will continue to play until 2026. Last month, he and the team were nearing the finish line in these protracted contract negotiations, but it was unclear why it took Messi several more weeks to finally sign the deal.
His first contract with Inter Miami was worth an estimated $150 million at the time. It started to pay off right away, with Inter Miami winning their first trophy, the 2023 League Cup, shortly after his arrival.
When he won his first MLS MVP award last season, he did so despite missing 15 of Inter Miami’s 34 regular season games due to injury and playing for the Argentina national team. Despite these absences, Inter Miami set the best regular season record in MLS and won their first Supporters’ Shield, but were upset in the first round of the playoffs.
The club’s worldwide popularity has increased significantly with the arrival of Messi. His pink No. 10 jersey has been the best-selling in MLS since joining the league, and he has added to his vast off-field business empire since coming to the United States. Last year, he also appeared in a Super Bowl ad.
“Our vision is to bring the best players to Inter Miami and to this city, and that is exactly what we have done,” said Inter Miami co-owner and soccer icon David Beckham. “We brought to our city the best player to ever play this game. It shows our dedication to Miami, but it also shows Leo’s dedication to the city, the club and the game. He’s as dedicated as ever and he still wants to win.”
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
