Lionel Messi decides Inter Miami exit date; chooses next club he wants to join: Reports

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami contract will expire next December.

Argentina legend Lionel Messi has allegedly decided to leave his current club Inter Miami at the end of his deal, aiming a return to one of his former teams in the near future.

Messi, 37, left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent and opted to move to Gerardo Martino’s outfit last summer. He has helped in turning around the Herons’ fortunes, guiding them to the Leagues Cup trophy last year and to the Major League Soccer (MLS) play-offs in 2024.

Now, according to Spanish news outlet El Nacional (via the Mirror), Lionel Messi is keen to run down his current contract at Inter Miami and depart in December 2025. He will then reportedly try and secure a free transfer to Argentine side Newell’s Old Boys, where he played as a youth star from 1995 to 2000, in January 2026.

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Earlier in 2016, Lionel Messi had stated that he would love to join Newell’s Old Boys in the future. He told Spanish magazine El Planeta Urbano (h/t Mirror):

“If I go back to Argentina tomorrow, which I would love, the club I would be play for would be Newell’s.”

So far, the eight-time Ballon d’Or award winner has bagged 27 goals and provided 17 assists in 32 games in all competitions for Inter Miami.

David Beckham shares primary reason why Lionel Messi chose to move to Inter Miami

Speaking at the Stella Artois’ ‘Let’s Do Dinner’ event in New York, Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham shared his thoughts on the Argentine plying his trade at his club. He said (h/t GOAL):

“All he was interested in is a place where his family could come enjoy and have a great life. That was really important for Leo. I mean, from day one, from the moment he put his foot down in Miami, it’s been a dream, honestly… to be able to say that we’ve signed the world’s greatest ever player to ever play the game.”

Beckham, who represented LA Galaxy 124 times as a player, added:

“Everybody’s got their opinion on who they think is the best player of all time – whether it be Diego Maradona, Pele, all of these great players. But to say that we have in the MLS, in Miami, the greatest player to play the game, it’s just like a dream, you know? It’s a dream every time that I’m [attending a training session in Miami].”

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Lionel Messi is next expected to feature in Inter Miami’s MLS encounter against Charlotte at Chase Stadium in Miami this Saturday (September 28).

Gerardo Martino’s side, meanwhile, are currently eight points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference table with 64 points from 30 games.