Football General Manager
- Contract in MLS is running down
- Future questions with no extension triggered
- Of interest to teams around the world
Questions continue to be asked of how much longer the South American superstar will be spending in MLS with Inter Miami. A 12-month extension option in his contract is yet to be triggered.
Messi will become a free agent at the end of the year if no clause is taken up in Florida, with it already being suggested that he could seek out a new challenge ahead of the 2026 World Cup – which will see him trying to help Argentina defend their global crown.
There has been talk of interest from the Saudi Pro League – where eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo is turning out for Al-Nassr – while clubs around the world would happily welcome Messi’s talent and marketing appeal onto their books.
Quizzed on whether Messi could link up with English champions Liverpool, ex-Reds striker Emile Heskey told BestBettingSites.co.uk: “I’m sure all of the Premier League sides will be interested in taking Lionel Messi on loan from Inter Miami. The explosion in shirt sales and marketing would be incredible. We never saw Inter Miami shirts outside of Miami before he arrived, now they’re everywhere. He has a crazy impact.
“In terms of football, the only ones who could accommodate him are the top four, but none of them will play a style that will allow him to take it easy throughout a game. He doesn’t have that intensity anymore.
“If he wants to go back then probably France would suit him, because I think Italy is too intense. But I think Spain, and Barcelona, is the natural fit. He can’t go anywhere else, can he?”
Barcelona have always left the door open for Messi to return to Catalunya, as they prepare to head home to a reconstructed Camp Nou, but the evergreen 38-year-old has been giving little away when it comes to his future plans.
