Ammon News - Lionel Messi is already planning for the end of his Inter Miami career, according to a family friend.

The soccer icon’s contract in Miami has just one season left to run and it is unclear whether he will stay in the MLS for 2026. By then, Inter will have moved from Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to the new Miami Freedom Park.

Whether Messi stays for another year or not, his long-term plans do not involve staying in Florida. Instead, he intends to move back to the Spanish city where he made his name, Barcelona.

That’s according to Argentine media star and friend of the Messi family, Yanina Latorre. She recently visited the 37-year-old’s US home, subsequently telling La Nacion: "He told me that when he finishes here [in Miami], where he is happy, he will return to Barcelona.”

When Latorre asked Messi if he could remain in Miami, he told her: "No, my place is there."

Messi’s Miami future will hinge on talks with the club’s owners. Speaking at the end of last year, co-owner Jorge Mas said via ESPN: "Messi is under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit and discuss the future.

"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."

This year is a big one for Messi and his current club, who will compete in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June and July. Meanwhile, preparations for the 2025 MLS season, which begins next month, are under way.

Messi scored their first goal of their pre-season in a 2-2 draw against Mexican side Club America. He equalized three minutes after they had gone behind in the first half of the friendly in Nevada.

Messi was taken off just after the hour along with fellow veterans Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets before their team-mates won a post-game penalty shootout. The Mirror