Lionel Messi pledges future to Miami and admits there is ‘not a lot of time left’ | Lionel Messi

Inter Miami will be the last club Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.

Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 after his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions PSG. He has long been linked to a return to his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys. But Messi told ESPN he will finish his career in the US.

“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi said. “I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches … And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing to defend the Copa América title with Argentina. The tournament kicks off on 20 June in the US.

Messi also responded to Kylian Mbappé’s comments about the quality of the World Cup compared to the European Championships. “Euro is a really difficult competition, probably more than the World Cup,” Mbappé told L’Équipe last week.

“Well, everybody prioritizes their tournament,” Messi said in response to the Frenchman’s comments. “Obviously, the Euros is very important and has the best teams, but he’s leaving out three-time 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 also said that his World Cup victory had helped put his career in perspective.

“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,” he said. “So I have a good time with the club, being lucky having good teammates and friends at my side.”

Messi returned to the international stage for the first time in six months, helping Argentina to a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in a Copa América warm-up match last week. He was on the bench for the first half before replacing Ángel Di María in the 56th minute. A hamstring injury had kept the forward from participating in Argentina’s previous two Copa América warm-up games against El Salvador and Costa Rica in March.

Argentina will take on Canada in Atlanta in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on 25 June in New Jersey and Peru four days later in Miami.