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<\/p>\nLionel Messi has agreed a contract extension with Inter Miami which will see the Argentine superstar remain in Major League Soccer until the end of the 2028 season, the club confirmed on Friday (AEDT).<\/p>\n
Inter Miami\u2019s X feed posted a video of Messi signing a contract sitting at a table in the middle of the club\u2019s new Freedom Park stadium, which is under construction, with the simple caption: \u201cHe\u2019s Home.\u201d \u201cIt makes me really happy to stay here and to continue with this project that, besides being a dream, has become a beautiful reality – playing in this stadium, at Miami Freedom Park,\u201d Messi, 38, said in a club statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I arrived in Miami, I\u2019ve been very happy, so I\u2019m truly glad to keep going here,\u201d Messi added.<\/p>\n
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham said Messi\u2019s decision to extend reflected his \u201ccommitment to the city, to the club, to the game\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still as committed as he\u2019s ever been and he still wants to win,\u201d Beckham said. \u201cAs owners to have a player that loves the game as much as he does, and who has done as much for the game in this country and to inspire the next generation of young talent as he has, we feel very lucky.\u201d <\/p>\n
The World Cup-winner\u2019s current contract \u2014 a three-year deal worth an estimated $150 million (AU$230.4m) \u2014 expires at the end of the 2025 MLS season. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Details regarding the monetary value of Messi\u2019s new deal with the American club have not yet been disclosed. <\/p>\n
A new deal had been viewed as a formality after club sources told AFP last month that the franchise had reached an agreement on an extension.<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s contract ensures he will remain in competitive action until and long after the 2026 World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n
Messi moved to Inter Miami in 2023 after an unhappy spell at Paris Saint-Germain and has since had a transformative effect on the league, driving record attendances and ticketing revenues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Lionel Messi made MLS his league of choice, it marked a turning point — not just for Inter Miami, but for our entire sport in North America,\u201d MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Friday as he welcomed news of Messi\u2019s contract extension.<\/p>\n
Messi spent the bulk of his stellar career at Barcelona, where he played from 2004 to 2021 after coming through the youth system at the Spanish giants.<\/p>\n
At Barcelona, he won the La Liga title 10 times and lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy on four occasions.<\/p>\n
In 2022, he led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar and has expressed a desire to try to retain the trophy next year.<\/p>\n
He has scored 114 international goals and also won the Copa America twice with Argentina, in 2021 and 2024.<\/p>\n
– MLS goals history –<\/p>\n
Messi could play at a sixth World Cup next year, which would set a new all-time record, although he could be matched by long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.<\/p>\n
The eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner is also just three goals short of Miroslav Klose\u2019s record of 16 career World Cup goals.<\/p>\n
Argentina comfortably booked a spot at next year\u2019s finals, finishing nine points clear at the top of the South American qualifying table.<\/p>\n
Messi finished as the top scorer with eight goals, including a brace in what may have been his last competitive match on home soil against Venezuela two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
He was named the MLS Most Valuable Player in the 2024 season even though Inter Miami were eliminated in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
In 2025, he became the fastest player to reach 40 goals in MLS history. This season, Messi has led Miami back into the playoffs after finishing in third place in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n
He wrapped up Inter Miami\u2019s regular season campaign with a superb hat-trick last Saturday in a 5-2 demolition of Nashville SC, leaving him with 29 goals from 28 matches to win MLS\u2019s Golden Boot award. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi has agreed a contract extension with Inter Miami which will see the Argentine superstar remain in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[2620,2095,141443,12910,1724,64,63,2065,2791,12411,11241,141447,141450,13159,141445,141446,9239,2755,596,2105,31550,941,121458,141452,15350,2184,5140,141449,141451,2041,2067,2638,24419,16260,11368,141448,11298,141442,85,40697,11804,92326,39447,2614,22474,12000,19054,141444],"class_list":["post-236023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-america","tag-american-club","tag-argentina","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-canada","tag-central-america","tag-club-statement","tag-contract-extension","tag-cristiano-ronaldo-dos-santos-aveiro","tag-dor-winner","tag-david-beckham","tag-don-garber","tag-driving-record-attendances","tag-eastern-asia","tag-florida","tag-football","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-home-soil","tag-japan","tag-lionel-messi","tag-long-time-rival","tag-major-league-soccer","tag-mexico","tag-miami","tag-mls-goals-history","tag-monetary-value","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-nuno-espirito-santo","tag-paris-saint-germain","tag-qatar","tag-regular-season","tag-sean-dyche","tag-south-america","tag-south-american-qualifying-table","tag-sports","tag-three-year-deal-worth","tag-tokyo","tag-turning-point","tag-uefa-champions-league","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-venezuela","tag-western-asia","tag-young-talent","tag-youth-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}