FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi has finally agreed to a new contract with Inter Miami, concluding several months of negotiations. The deal ensures that the sport’s biggest icon will remain with the Major League Soccer club as it prepares to move into a new stadium next year.
The announcement came on Thursday, just one day before Inter Miami’s playoff opener against Nashville. Messi’s team, the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, will host Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Friday night.
While the terms of the contract were not immediately revealed, Inter Miami had been pushing for a deal extending into 2027 or 2028. The prospect of Messi playing two or three more seasons is expected to provide a significant boost to ticket sales at the new stadium the team has been constructing near Miami International Airport.
The club has been selling ticket packages and taking deposits on seats in the new park for over a year, all under the assumption that Messi would remain a central part of the franchise.
Messi’s decision to stay in Miami is monumental for both the club and Major League Soccer as a whole. He was named the league’s MVP last season and is the overwhelming favorite to win the award again this year. Securing back-to-back MVP titles would make him only the second player in MLS history to earn the honor twice, following Preki, who won in 1997 and 2003.
“To enjoy him, watching him enjoy doing the things he is doing, he’s very, very competitive and he tries to translate that to the team,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said Thursday. “The best way to help him is trying to do the right things. He has to be comfortable on the pitch. He’s comfortable when things are working in the right way.
“With him, when we do things the right way, we’ll have many chances to have success.”
https://wsvn.com/sports/inter-miami-cf/lionel-messi-and-inter-miami-finally-complete-his-new-contract-hell-remain-with-the-club-in-2026/
