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Hello. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. Three. More. Years.
On the way:
📝 Messi’s new MLS contract
⏩ Arsenal fast-track Dowman
⛓️💥 Ending a 40-year title duopoly?
🥩 Haaland, steak and raw milk
More Messi! Inter Miami deal to 2028 looks like final club contract
(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Yesterday, Lionel Messi signed a contract extension at Inter Miami. The news passed without undue drama because all of us were ready and waiting. Journalists, including ours, considered it a formality months ago.
What wasn’t widely predicted was the length of the new deal: running for three years, until 2028. Messi is staying in Major League Soccer, and that much we expected. But far from extending in a piecemeal manner, season by season, this renewal could represent the last contract he negotiates as a player. Let’s look at it a bit more closely:
Messi will be 41 when these terms expire. It’s not a stretch to say that Miami look like being the club where he retires. If he sees it out (which he surely will), he’ll have devoted more time to them than any team except Barcelona.
The assumption is that Messi’s international career with Argentina will end after the 2026 World Cup. He’s already given the impression that he’s turned out for his country on home soil for the last time. But if his legs hold up, is the 2028 Copa America completely out of the question?
Players and franchises across MLS are going to be tormented by him for a while yet. Messi has oozed MVP quality in the States. Individually, he’s the dominant force in the league. If opponents were hoping to see the back of him soon, think again.
Messi’s enthusiasm for football is limitless. Poor results seemed to drive him to distraction during the early months of 2025, but he’s one of those stars who will persist in playing until his body intervenes. Three more years of the game’s greatest exponent are years we should make the most of because, in terms of what’s left of his career, this could be it.
The extension is great news for Miami. Messi is central whenever they perform well, almost without fail. In 2025, he’s taken the Golden Boot and topped the chart for assists alongside Anders Dreyer of San Diego. He gives the franchise a domestic and international profile they wouldn’t otherwise have.
It’s a good deal for Messi too. Miami are set up to satisfy him (appointing his mate, Javier Mascherano, as head coach was a perfect example of that). He’s treated like royalty, he’s performing well and given that Europe’s elite leagues are probably beyond him these days, it’s hard to think of a better environment for him.
But what of MLS itself? The league has made every effort to cash in on Messi and use him to attract a bigger audience. Apple, which committed a minimum of $2.5bn (£1.9bn) to a decade of broadcast rights, offered him a share of subscriber revenue. But there are times when MLS is a little too Messi-centric; when you ask whether it has a vision beyond marketing the World Cup winner. Is Messi front and centre until 2028 a strategy for overall growth?
I put that question to one of our MLS experts, Tom Bogert. Here’s what he had to say:
“Messi staying is hugely positive, especially with the league hoping to convert people who wander over just to watch the GOAT into regular MLS fans. That’s a difficult task and one the league has struggled with. It’s only a benefit to have more years of trying.
“MLS isn’t in any danger for the future, but don’t forget, the old NASL folded (in 1985) eight years after Pele left the New York Cosmos. From a purist point of view: this country gets to watch Lionel Freaking Messi every week! It’s only good for fans on this side of the Atlantic.”
There you have it.
Young gun: How Arsenal are making a special case with new deal for Dowman, 15
Some 4,000 miles east of Miami is a player whose status and contractual position will make Messi feel his age. Arsenal’s Max Dowman is going through what the great man went through 20-odd years ago: the transition from youth-team sensation to first-team phenomenon.
Dowman isn’t at the phenomenon stage yet; he’s appeared three times as a substitute. But Arsenal think he’s a superstar in waiting, hence why they’ve been fast-tracking him into their senior dressing room.
Juniors at the Emirates don’t usually leap forward as quickly as Dowman (he’s still only 15), but the club are doing everything to keep him happy. David Ornstein reported yesterday that a scholarship deal has been struck with Dowman, with a professional contract to follow at 17 — the earliest age at which players can turn pro in the Premier League. They’re pushing the boat out, and they’re certain he’s worth it.
News round-up
Head over Hearts? A look at the chances of breaking a 40-year title duopoly in Scotland
Warning: more Heart of Midlothian content incoming. Although in mitigation, my arm was twisted into it by The Athletic.
As it stands, you see, Hearts are five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. It’s notable for the simple fact that Scotland is one of football’s most unbreakable duopolies. The title has gone to Rangers or Celtic in each of the past 40 years. More than that, they’ve won 110 of 129 championships historically.
I’ve seen this dance up north before, and eight games in, I’m not about to shout the odds. But my editors are right: there are reasons why Hearts for the title is remotely possible this season, so at the risk of tempting fate, I bit my lip and wrote about them. It’s a story of dominance, geographical power, bonfires and human excrement. Enjoy.
Around TAFC
(Photo by RODRIGO OROPEZA/AFP via Getty Images)
Alejandro Zendejas (above) is making friends and influencing people at Club America in Mexico. He’s also impressing USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino. And when he hangs his boots up, I reckon a career as a taxi driver is waiting. Felipe Cardenas spent a day with him on Mexico City’s busy streets.
Eberechi Eze is showing the signs of being a quality recruit for Arsenal. He’s a dab hand at chess too. He’s been back visiting his old school to talk about both of his sporting passions.
I found James Horncastle’s article on under-pressure Juventus boss Igor Tudor an entertaining read. Tudor is one of those coaches who “never reads newspaper articles” but takes journalists to task over the articles they’ve written. The coverage isn’t too pretty at present.
Alyssa Thompson leaving Angel City for Chelsea extended a trend of women’s players quitting the U.S. for British or European leagues. Asli Pelit doesn’t think that’s a bad thing.
The obvious Fantasy Premier League question of the week: Is it time to ditch Mohamed Salah? I’m thinking it probably is.
Quiz question: Chelsea’s win over Ajax on Wednesday was their 200th game in the Champions League (or the European Cup, as it was). Can you name the six players who have scored 10 or more goals for them in the competition? Answers will be served up here later today, and in Monday’s TAFC.
Most clicked in Thursday’ TAFC: Mark Carey’s fantastic 4-2-3-1 analysis.
Catch a match
(Selected games, times ET/UK)
Friday: Premier League: Leeds United vs West Ham United, 3pm/8pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports; MLS play-off, round one: Inter Miami vs Nashville, 8pm/1am — Fox Sports, Fubo, MLS Season Pass/Apple TV.
Saturday: Premier League (both USA Network/Fubo in U.S.): Manchester United vs Brighton, 12.30pm/5.30pm — Sky Sports; Brentford vs Liverpool, 3pm/8pm — TNT Sports; Bundesliga: Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich, 9.30am/2.30pm — ESPN+ (U.S. only); Serie A: Napoli vs Inter, 12pm/5pm — Paramount+, Fubo, DAZN/TNT Sports, DAZN; Ligue 1: Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain, 11am/4pm — beIn Sports, Fanatiz, Fubo (U.S. only).
Sunday: Premier League (all Sky Sports in UK): Arsenal vs Crystal Palace, 9am/2pm — Peacock Premium; Aston Villa vs Manchester City, 9am/2pm, Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur, 11.30am/4.30pm — both USA Network, Fubo. La Liga: Real Madrid vs Barcelona, 10.15am/3.15pm — ESPN, Fubo/Premier Sports.
MLS play-off, round one (both Apple TV in UK): Philadelphia Union vs Chicago Fire, 3.30pm/9.30pm — Fox Sports, Fubo, MLS Season Pass; San Diego vs Portland Timbers, 8.30pm/1.30am – MLS Season Pass.
And finally…
My starting point with real-life documentaries about footballers is that they’re liable to send me to sleep. But given that Erling Haaland is breathing fire in all directions — 14 games for club and country this season, 24 goals scored — I was sold on the promise of some insight into what makes him tick.
More than that, in the first episode of his new YouTube channel, I enjoyed finding out about his diet. Because you know what they say: an army marches on its stomach. Two of his secret weapons are “raw milk” (I assume that means unpasturised) and Tomahawk steaks which look like the size of a cow (above). They’re bona fide Viking vibes. And my word, they’re working.