EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber is hopeful Lionel Messi and Inter Miami can agree to a contract extension to keep the Argentine World Cup champion in the league before next year’s World Cup.
Messi is under contract with Inter Miami – co-owned by brothers Jorge and Jose Mas, and David Beckham – through the end of the 2025 MLS season.
“Messi has been such an incredible part of the MLS story the last couple of years and playing so well. It’s just been a gift to have the best player in the world in Major League Soccer,’ Garber told USA TODAY Sports during an interview on Friday, July 11, two days before the FIFA Club World Cup final.
“We certainly look forward to him continuing his career in Miami. I know Jorge Mas and his partners are going to work hard to see if they’re able to re-sign him and have him play here – hopefully prior to him playing for Argentina next summer.
“And not anything more I can add on that, but I’m hopeful that we’re able to re-sign him,” Garber added.
USA TODAY Sports reported earlier this week that Messi and Inter Miami are in continued negotiations on a new deal. One part of the process is whether Messi would extend through 2026 or 2027, a person familiar with the talks said on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing nature of negotiations.
Messi and Inter Miami will host Nashville SC in their next match on Saturday, July 12.
Messi became the first player in the league’s 30-year history to score multiple goals in four consecutive league matches in his last match. He scored twice on the road in a 2-1 win against the New England Revolution on July 9.
Messi also helped Inter Miami and MLS make history in the Club World Cup, where his free-kick goal against Portuguese side FC Porto delivered the first win for a North American team against a European club in a major international competition.
Garber also cherished Messi and Inter Miami having a chance to compete against Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16, before they were ultimately eliminated from the tournament following a 4-0 loss on June 29 in Atlanta.
“The beauty of the Club World Cup is our teams had an opportunity to stand and go toe-to-toe with the top teams in the world,” Garber said of Inter Miami, the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC representing MLS in the tournament.
“Miami had a good run and got out of the group [stage]. PSG is the best team in the world right now, and certainly is playing at the highest level. And while they lost that game, I think there was less talk about how Miami wasn’t good enough, and more about how great PSG is.
“But you got to get into the arena, and you got to fight the fight. And the Club World Cup gave our teams the opportunity to do that.”