Messi was voted MLS\u2019s MVP for 2024<\/a> after scoring 21 goals in 22 league appearances.<\/p>\nThe eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner has registered 37 goals and 19 assists across 43 appearances in all competitions this season, with Miami finishing third in the Eastern Conference standings to qualify for the play-offs.<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s former Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez is out of contract at the end of 2025, while Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have both announced they will be retiring at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Co-owner David Beckham added: \u201cOur vision was to bring the best players to Inter Miami and to this city, and that\u2019s exactly what we have done. We brought the best player to have ever played the game to our city. That shows our commitment to Miami, but it also shows Leo\u2019s commitment to the city, to the club, and to the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still as committed as he\u2019s ever been and he still wants to win. As 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
\u2018Messi to lead Miami into new era\u2019<\/p>\n
Analysis by Tom Bogert<\/p>\n
Long since his future was in doubt but it\u2019s now official: Lionel Messi extends his time with Inter Miami.<\/p>\n
Messi will lead the club into their brand new stadium and into a slightly new era on the field, with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba retiring this winter.<\/p>\n
For Messi, it\u2019ll be more of the same. The legend is an overwhelming favorite to win MLS MVP for the second consecutive season \u2014 becoming the first player in league history to do that \u2014 and he shows no signs of slowing down just yet.<\/p>\n
With any worries that his contract hadn\u2019t yet been announced now quelled, Messi and Miami have full focus on the club\u2019s playoff run and chase to lift MLS Cup.<\/p>\n
\u2018Messi the outlier\u2019<\/p>\n
Analysis by Conor O\u2019Neill<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lionel_messi_goal_contributions_2025-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
As ever, when it comes to Lionel Messi, the numbers do little more than echo his obvious brilliance. Watch any Inter Miami game and it\u2019s immediately clear how far ahead he is of the rest of the MLS, even in this late stage of his career.<\/p>\n
Since arriving in 2023, he\u2019s scored 50 goals in 53 league games.<\/p>\n
The only real concern going forward is his availability. Last season, he played less than half of the possible league minutes, the first time he\u2019s done so since his teenage years at Barcelona in 2005-06. Yet savouring his genius for longer, even if on a more limited basis, is well worth the investment for David Beckham and co.<\/p>\n
The significance of 2028<\/p>\n
Analysis by Paul Tenorio\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inter Miami\u2019s announcement says Messi has signed a contract through the end of the 2028 season. That\u2019s significant because the league is expected to flip its calendar to a fall-spring format that mirrors many European leagues.<\/p>\n
That change is expected to occur no later than 2028 \u2014 with the league aiming for a 2027 change. With a fall-spring calendar, the end of the 2028 season would be in May 2029, a few weeks before Messi\u2019s 42nd birthday.<\/p>\n