Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas makes Lionel Messi claim as he heads into final year of MLS contract

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas believes Lionel Messi is going nowhere after his current contract expires at the end of next season. 

The Herons biggest star and one of the greatest to every play the sport came to Major League Soccer last July and has brought unprecedented attention to the American top division. 

What the New York Jets hoped Aaron Rodgers would be for their franchise, in a late-career superstar changing the trajectory of the franchise for the better, Messi has actually fulfilled. 

Mas wants none of that energy to change as American soccer is in maybe its most critical period since the 1994 World Cup was held in the United States and MLS had its inaugural season two years later.

‘Messi is under contract through 2025; Leo and I will sit and discuss the future,’ Mas said on 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 No. 10.’

To make Messi’s stay in Miami even more festive, the team is slated to hire his former Argentine and Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano as the Herons’ next head coach. 

Team co-owner Jorge Mas sounded confident about the future of Lionel Messi with Inter Miami

Inter Miami is only the third team Messi has played for after his lengthy Barcelona stint and a brief stay with Paris Saint-Germain. 

Messi already has a few of his longtime teammates in Florida with him in Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets. 

‘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,’ Mas added. 

‘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.’