Lionel Messi Back on Practice Field, Eyes Return for Inter Miami

Lionel Messi of Inter Miami looks on during the second half of the game against the Toronto FC at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on July 17, 2024. Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Lionel Messi is one step closer to getting back on the field at Inter Miami, boosting the quest for the franchise’s first MLS Cup.

Messi returned to practice this week after being sidelined for more than six weeks and eight matches with a sprained ankle. Inter Miami plays the Chicago Fire FC on Saturday, Aug. 31, and it’s uncertain whether Messi will be available. However, Inter Miami will not play against Philadelphia until Sept.14, which should provide enough time for Messi to get back in the lineup.

Messi will not play for Argentina in its upcoming World Cup qualifying matches on Sept. 5 and Sept. 10, allowing him more recovery time for Inter Miami.

Even though Messi has been out of the lineup for an extended time, Inter Miami has the best record in MLS with 17 wins, five draws, and four losses for 56 points, well ahead of second-place FC Cincinnati, which has 48 points. Messi’s return for the season’s final stretch will be a huge boost for Inter Miami and its quest to win the MLS Cup, the annual championship for the league.

Messi has 12 goals and 13 assists in 12 MLS games with Inter Miami this season. However, he has missed a total of 14 of the team’s league matches because of national team duties with Argentina and the ankle injury.

Messi was named the MLS Player of the Month for April with six goals and four assists in four games.

On May 4, Messi had an MLS-record six-point performance—one goal and five assists—in Miami’s 6–2 victory over the New York Red Bulls.

Messi has not played in a competitive match since July 14, when he was forced out of Argentina’s win over Colombia in the Copa América final. He has been hampered by injuries throughout the tournament and was not fit to continue with Inter Miami after the international tournament.

Messi said earlier this summer that Inter Miami would be his last club before retiring. However, the 37-year-old did not specify when he plans to walk away from the game.

“I’ve done this all of my life; I love playing ball. I enjoy the training, and the day-to-day, the games. Yeah, there’s a bit of fear that it’s all ending. It’s always there. It was a difficult step leaving Europe to come here [to Miami],” Messi told ESPN Argentina on June 12. “Today, I think [Inter Miami] is going to be my last club.”

When Messi does officially retire, he will be remembered as one of the best players in the history of soccer.

Although he is just 5 foot 7 inches tall and weighs 148 pounds, Messi is strong, fast, and well-balanced, consistently keeping opponents on their heels. He is naturally left-footed and is known for maintaining precise control of the ball as he dribbles around defenders.

Messi is a global brand, having won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards, given to the world’s best player over the previous season, and six European Golden Shoes, given each season to the leading goal scorer in league matches from the top division of Europe’s professional leagues.

He is also considered a national hero, after leading Argentina to the Copa América championship in 2021 and the FIFA World Cup title in 2022. At the World Cup, he scored seven goals, including two in the final against France, and broke the record for most games played at the prestigious tournament, with 26.

After a brief stint at French club Paris Saint-Germain from 2021 to 2023, Messi moved to Miami with much fanfare and a contract worth just more than $20.4 million a year. He also secured profit-sharing deals with Apple TV, MLS’s primary global broadcast partner, and sports apparel company Adidas.

The move has paid dividends for MLS, which continues to attract more star power by bringing some of the world’s best international players to the league.

Messi made an immediate impact with Inter Miami on the pitch, leading the club to the MLS-Liga MX Leagues Cup tournament championship—the first title since the franchise played its first game in 2020.

​​In Messi’s debut 2023 season, a record 10.9 million fans attended games throughout the league. The average attendance was 22,111, a 5 percent increase from 2022.

Last year, Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup—an annual competition between clubs from MLS and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico—by beating Nashville SC in penalties.

Earlier this season, 65,612 fans filled Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to watch Messi and Inter Miami take on the New England Revolution. That capacity crowd broke a New England Revolution attendance record, surpassing the 2002 MLS Cup title clash between the club and the L.A. Galaxy, which drew 61,316 fans.

So MLS will also lament Messi’s departure when he decides to retire.