Major League Soccer's biggest star Lionel Messi looks to be closing on a contract extension with Inter Miami.
The 38-year-old joined the Herons midway through the 2023 season and signed a contract that was slated to keep him with the team through the end of this season. Late last year, Miami's managing director Jorge Mas communicated his hope that Messi would extend his stay and feature at the club’s new Miami Freedom Park stadium, which they will move to next year.
It now looks as if Miami will get their wish. ESPN report that an agreement is close over a new multi-year deal for Messi, with just a few details left to be finalized before the agreement is confirmed and made public.
The re-signing of Messi, who is set to receive equity in the club when he retires per the terms of his current contract, would be a huge boost not only for Miami but for MLS as a whole, maintaining a huge spike in interest that has helped generate serious revenue and global recognition over the past 26 months.
Messi recently became just the fifth player in MLS history to record back-to-back seasons with 20 goals or more. His 20th goal of the regular season came Tuesday against the Seattle Sounders, and he joins Zlatan Ibrahimović, Josef Martínez, David Villa and Denis Bouanga as the only players to reach 20 goals in consecutive MLS seasons.
His individual performances haven’t always been rewarded, though. Miami sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings having won just 14 of their 27 games so far, and they have already come out on the losing end of matches six times—twice more than they did throughout the entirety of the 2024 MLS regular season.
Miami were also heavily beaten by the Seattle Sounders in the recent Leagues Cup final—a game that finished 3–0 but was overshadowed by a most fracas involving players, including Luis Suárez, and coaching staff.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Lionel Messi on Verge of New Multi-Year Inter Miami Deal.
