Rabat – Lionel Messi continues to perform at the top level for Inter Miami CF and the Argentina national team, but the 38-year-old is already looking ahead to life after football.
A contract extension signed in October 2025 will keep him at Inter Miami through the end of the 2028 MLS season, giving him on-field security as he starts to consider life after football.
Messi has stated he’s still not thinking of retirement yet and is currently fully invested in performing at the highest level, winning trophies, and helping his club and national football team succeed.
But at the same time, he’s started to plant the seeds for his next steps, looking into business opportunities, investments, and other projects that will transpire after he hangs up his cleats.
Balancing football with the next chapter
In the beginning of November 2025, Messi appeared at the American Business Forum in Miami, where he gave a rather clear indication that he’s taking his business interests and entrepreneurship much more seriously.
He explained that while football has its own “expiry date,” he’s now taking the time to learn the business of managing a project, learning about investing, and doing much more than leaving it all up to the advisors.
According to The Guardian, his new deal with Inter Miami includes equity in the club for after his retirement as a player, which suggests he’s in it for the long haul with both the team and the city.
Lionel Messi’s approach is smart: he’s building his brand, getting some valuable business experience under his belt, and gaining a head start on life after football — all without slowing down on the pitch one bit.
His presence is giving Inter Miami a serious boost on the global stage, driving merchandise sales up to record levels, and helping to put the league on the map, in front of a much larger international audience. La Pulga is making sure that when the final whistle blows on his player career, there will be meaningful opportunities waiting ahead.
It is already quite clear that Messi is setting off on a new chapter which mixes the “now” of elite football with the “next” of entrepreneurship and personal projects. And if his career to date is anything to go by, then we can expect his next chapter to also be pretty special.
