Lionel Messi has revealed that he will end his career at Inter Miami, saying the Major League Soccer side will be his “last club”.
Speaking in an interview with ESPN Argentina, the 36-year-old admitted “there’s not a lot of time left” in his career, adding that he feels “a bit of fear” about the day he decides to hang up his boots.
Messi, who moved to Miami last summer on a contract until 2025, confirmed that the MLS side “is going to be my last club”.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, 36, joined the Major League Soccer (MLS) club last summer after leaving Paris St-Germain.
“I’ve done this all of my life; I love playing ball. As of today, I think it’s going to be my last club,” the forward told ESPN.
“I enjoy the practices and the day-to-day, the games. Yeah, there’s a bit of fear that it’s all ending. It’s always there. It was a difficult step leaving Europe to come here [to Miami],” he said.
Messi, widely considered as one of the greatest footballers to ever play the sport, has won 40 trophies for club and country. He is Barcelona’s all-time top scorer with 672 goals and scored 32 more in a two-year spell with PSG.
He finally won the World Cup, the one trophy that eluded him for so long, with Argentina in 2022.
He says winning the World Cup helped give him some perspective on his career, and he hopes to enjoy the final stages of his career.
“The fact we won the World Cup helped, it helped a lot, to see things in another way. But I try not to think about it. I try to enjoy it. I do that more now because I’m aware that there’s not a lot of time left. So I have a good time with the club, being lucky having good teammates and friends at my side.
“I enjoy my time with the national team, where I also have good friends, too, and a lot. I enjoy those small details that I know I’ll miss when I stop playing.”
Messi also responded to recent comments made by his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, who suggested that the Euros is a more difficult tournament than the World Cup.
“Well, everybody prioritises their tournament,” Messi said in response to the France striker’s remarks.
“Obviously, the Euro is very important and has the best teams, but he’s leaving out three-time [world] champion Argentina, five-time champion Brazil, two-time champion Uruguay. There are a lot of world champions left off to say that it’s the most difficult tournament.
“The best teams play in the World Cup, which generally includes all the world champions. There’s a reason everybody wants to be champions.”
Messi is preparing to lead Argentina in their Copa America defence in the US, with the tournament kicking off on June 20.
He made his return to international football for the first time in six months last week, helping Argentina to a 1-0 win over Ecuador, after missing his country’s previous two matches against El Salvador and Costa Rica in March.
Argentina take on Canada in their opening match of the Copa America group stage, before facing Chile and Peru.
Source: graphicOnline
