Inter Miami 'fully expect' Messi stay beyond 2025

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said Friday that he expects Lionel Messi will continue to form part of the team through the 2026 Major League Soccer season.

Messi joined Inter Miami in July 2023 on a contract that runs through the end of the 2025 MLS season. The original deal does not include an additional club option to extend through 2026, making the upcoming season his last for the Herons under the current contract.

But Mas insists that the Argentine star will remain with the team as Inter Miami moves from Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to the new Miami Freedom Park in Miami.

"Messi is under contract through 2025, Leo and I will sit and discuss the future," he told media Friday. "As I have said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 and the opening of our 2026 MLS season after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Leo Messi will be our number 10."

Messi played an integral role in the team's 2024 success, recording 21 goals and 17 assists despite only playing 21 MLS matches throughout the season. He led Inter Miami to the 2024 Supporters' Shield and the league record for most points scored in a single season, before ultimately falling to Atlanta United in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Mas was speaking as the club confirmed the departure of coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino due to personal reasons. Sources have confirmed to ESPN that Miami is set to appoint Argentina under-20 and under-23 coach Javier Mascherano, a former teammate of Messi's, to replace Martino.

As the team heads into the offseason and continues to make roster decisions for the 2025 campaign, Mas emphasized Inter Miami will aim to bring the best talent to South Florida as the pressure to win rises.

"We are going to use every single roster mechanism given to us by the league to build the best roster we can to compete in 2025, knowing we will compete in multiple competitions such as Concacaf Champions League, Club World Cup, Leagues Cup," he said.

"There is pressure here to win, and that pressure is going to continue. We expect it of ourselves, our coaches and players ... There are roster decisions being made, a little too prematurely than we expected. We expected to be playing tomorrow or Sunday [in the conference semifinals].

"We are going to continue having the best team we can, there are no budget limitations. We are going to bring the best players we can from anywhere in the world, and we will continue winning and building this club to be a premier football team."

The team continues to negotiate the return of Luis Suárez, whose contract came to an end at the end of the 2024 campaign, and Jordi Alba, among others. The roster decisions must be submitted to the league by Nov. 27, the deadline to exercise options and confirm bona fide offers.