Lionel Messi admitted that his “time will come soon” after seeing longstanding teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba both announce their impending retirements.
Busquets, 37, and Alba, 36, will each end their respective professional soccer careers at the end of the 2025 MLS season, with retirement currently tied to Miami’s progress in the postseason—the Herons face Nashville SC in game two of round one at Geodis Park on Saturday.
Messi celebrated his 38th birthday during the summer and is well aware that he doesn’t have a very long time left as a player, despite just recently signing a new contract in South Florida.
“Honestly, it’s difficult,” Messi told Fabrizio Romano in an interview for , addressing losing two of his closest colleagues that he’s known for years and years.
“…because you see that you’ve dedicated your entire professional life to football, that the people around you are starting to leave, and you realize that your own time will also come soon.”
Messi’s retirement won’t come too soon. The fresh terms he signed with Miami last week will run until the end of the 2028 MLS season, by which point the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will have recently celebrated his 41st birthday.
Walking away any sooner would be a huge disappointment, given how the club tied his contract renewal announcement into the ongoing construction of Miami Freedom Park, the new stadium set to open ahead of the 2026 season. But the idea of Messi carrying on after 2028, well into his forties, is difficult to envisage in a sport where most players are done by the age of 35.
