Messi finished the 2024 playing year when he and the Argentina national team won against Peru 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifier on November 20. He will take a long break until February 2025 before returning to the field.
In Argentina’s match against Peru, Messi provided a beautiful assist to striker Lautaro Martinez to score the only goal of the match. This assist helped the 37-year-old become the best assist provider of all time at team level with a total of 59 assists.
He officially surpassed the record of Landon Donovan (USA) with 58 assists and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) with 42 assists. The next players on the list are Thierry Henry (France) with 41 assists, David Beckham (England) with 40 assists and Sergio Agüero (Argentina) with 38 assists.
This achievement and two more championship titles, including the Copa America and the MLS Supporters’ Shield (an American professional soccer league), helped Messi have a rather successful competitive year. In addition, the Argentine national team ranked first in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the South American region and continued to occupy the number 1 spot in the FIFA rankings.
Only the failed MLS Cup championship title is Messi’s only disappointment in 2024. Also due to the early elimination in the first round of the MLS Cup, this famous player and the Inter Miami Club had to wait until the end of the season. However, this gave him and his teammates a longer break than desired.
Therefore, it will not be until February 2025 that Messi and Inter Miami will play again in the new season. The 2025 MLS season will begin on February 22, 2025. Inter Miami will not have an international tour as it did in early 2024. They have scheduled a friendly match against Orlando City Club on February 14 in the United States. Apart from this match, there are currently no other officially scheduled training matches.
There are currently rumors that Messi will move to another European club to play on loan in the short term. However, according to ESPN Argentina, Messi has kept his commitment to play only for Inter Miami as the last club of his career. The contract of this famous player with the US national team remains valid until the end of 2025 with the option to extend it the following year.
“There is no chance that Messi will go to Europe or return to his boyhood club, Newell’s Old Boys, even after his contract expires at the end of 2025,” ESPN Argentina stressed. “Instead, Messi will use the time to rest and recover, returning to play with Inter Miami in the new season and with the Argentina national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifying schedule in March 2025,” according to ESPN Argentina.
In 2024, Messi scored 20 goals and provided 10 assists in 19 MLS games with Inter Miami. But he also missed up to 15 games due to injury and played in the Copa America. This famous player is determined to play more to help Inter Miami achieve their dream of winning the 2025 MLS Cup.
In addition to this title, in 2025 Inter Miami will also compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the Leagues Cup and the Club World Cup.
