Argentine magician Lionel Messi is preparing to play his final match with his country's national team, after a career full of titles and achievements with the "Tango Dancers" team. In his 208th international match, a record that makes him the most representative player for the Argentine national team, and its all-time top scorer, Messi will bid farewell to the fans in poignant moments during a friendly match against Benin at the Monumental Stadium in the capital, Buenos Aires.
The player, who is widely considered the greatest in the history of Argentina, and is rivaled only by the late star Diego Maradona, announced his retirement from international football on August 31, six weeks after the defeat in the last World Cup final against Spain, indicating that he no longer had anything to offer the national team. Lionel Scaloni, the Argentine national team coach, confirms that the door remains open for Messi to continue if he so desires, and that there is nothing wrong with changing his mind, but this chapter appears to have already been closed.
On the other hand, Messi's career with clubs will continue, as his contract with the American team Inter Miami extends until the end of the 2028 season, with the contract subject to annual review, and those close to him do not expect him to leave the club before the date set for the expiration of the contract, but rather it is very likely that he will renew his contract if he feels that he is mentally and physically capable of continuing to play. When those close to him are asked what will happen next, they just smile, because Messi has never been accustomed to planning beyond his next match.
However, the features of his future appear clear before us. He will remain linked to the world of the Round Witch, because he will find it very difficult to live away from it, but his other business interests extend far beyond the scope of the game. Messi has always liked the idea of working as a sports director, or as an advisor to the president, so that he can be close to the decision-making centers without bearing the burden of constant travel and many phone calls.
When he was recently asked what he would prefer: to be a coach or a club owner, the captain of the Argentine national team chose to be an owner, as the coach’s life and fate are linked to the results of the matches every week, and he also has to worry about many things beyond what Messi prefers. As for the owner, he charts the club’s course from a calmer position, far from the hustle and bustle of the green rectangle. However, Messi will not be an owner who is satisfied with approving the appointment of the coach and then walking away. Rather, he will want to participate in every detail.
Preliminary arrangements for this are currently being made in Spain, where UE Cornella, located on the outskirts of Barcelona and competing in the Spanish fifth division, is an incubator for the development of young players, and Messi acquired it last April. CD El Dense, a competitor in the Spanish Second Division, also announced the transfer of its ownership to Messi on October 1, pending official approval from the Supreme Council for Sports in Spain.
El Denense will be the club at the center of its football activities, but the goal this season is not limited to avoiding relegation, which is why Javi Calleja, the former coach of Villarreal, took over the task of coaching the team to coincide with the arrival of the new owner. The plan is to manage the two clubs through people whom Messi trusts, to serve as a link between him and them until he devotes himself completely to following them up himself.
Currently, Messi is closely following all of El Densi’s matches on his computer, and following the team’s 4-1 victory over Real Oviedo, his first message as the new owner was a post on the “Instagram” application that carried the phrase, “Come on, Deportivo.” The influence of his name and his appeal was clearly evident, as about 12 sponsors came forward within a few days, some of them brands that were negotiating with the previous owners without concluding any agreement, and others with whom they had a prior relationship.
In Uruguay, Messi founded, together with Luis Suarez, his former Barcelona teammate, Deportivo LSM, in May 2025, and the team succeeded in climbing to the third division in the country during its first season. Initially, the idea of creating a network that included more clubs was mooted, but the huge sums required to advance it through the different league levels led to enthusiasm for that idea quickly declining, and it is not currently up for discussion, as Messi’s focus now is on seeing whether El Densi can consolidate his position in the Spanish League.
There is also a link to the city of Miami. Under his contract with Inter Miami, Messi will receive a share in the ownership of the club upon his retirement, but establishing his own club, with an independent sports franchise, is not part of the plan. Here a question arises: Can Messi return to his hometown of Newell's Old Boys Club, where he played as a child in the city of Rosario? But the answer is that this idea was never formally discussed. Perhaps the idea came to his mind while drinking yerba mate with Suarez, just as the idea of returning to Barcelona, or having an experience with Napoli, Maradona’s club, might occur to him at some point.
No one close to the player expects this to happen, as all the plans revolve around Europe and Miami, and there is an ideal house waiting for the family in Castelldefels, near the sea and the city of Barcelona, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Newell's Old Boys Club will remain close to it, as the club is considered one of the 16 academies participating in this year's Messi Cup.
If owning clubs represents a passion for Messi, then youth football represents another passion, and the best evidence of this is his constant keenness to attend his son’s matches and the “Messi Cup” events. He devotes his time and money to supporting a tournament dedicated to the academies of the age group under 16 years, a tournament that was launched with the participation of 8 teams. Last year, the organizers expected Messi to attend one or two matches, and perhaps only the final match, but he surprised everyone by attending and following all the matches throughout the tournament. This year, the number of participants has doubled to reach 16 teams, as the competitions will be held starting October 25 at the facilities of the Inter Miami Club in Florida, USA, with the participation of prominent clubs, such as Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Chelsea, UE Cornella, and others.
Away from the football fields, Messi has built up an investment portfolio that helps explain why Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at about $1.1 billion last June, with profits amounting to about $140 million during the previous year, distributed between football and business. The lifetime sponsorship deal he signed with the German sports equipment and supplies company Adidas in 2017 is considered his most famous deal in this field.
Among his most prominent projects also stands out the “MIM Hotels” hotel chain, which is a group that includes six distinctive (boutique) hotels with locations extending from Ibiza to Andorra, and managed by the “Melia” group under a leasing agreement in effect since the first of last November. The name MIM was derived from combining the names of Messi and the “Majestic” Hotel Group, and these hotels are managed within the “Melia Collection” group.
In his hometown of Rosario, his family company is investing in the Carrasco M residential project, which includes 24 houses near the Paraná River, where the real estate agency owned by his former teammate in the Argentine national team, Angel Di Maria, is managing sales. Messi is also a partner in the “El Club de la Milanesa” restaurant chain, which intends to open five branches in the Catalonia region. He also has a product range dedicated to the mate drink in cooperation with the giant “Stanley” company in the field of beverage utensils. This partnership is the first long-term agreement that the brand has concluded with an athlete, as Messi shared his opinion in choosing the materials and colors used.
His path in the business world began with the participation of his father, as Jorge Messi, who died last August at the age of 68, took over the management of his son’s affairs from the beginning, but some of his early advice got the family into trouble with the tax authorities in Spain. The company later expanded to include branches specializing in television production, marketing, media, business partnerships, and more, and all of these activities were well-established and stable by the time Jorge fell seriously ill.
Messi places his trust in those responsible for managing these businesses, some of whom have accompanied him since his beginnings in Barcelona, and the careful examination and scrutiny process ensures that only the things that he feels comfortable with are offered to him or chosen, as he is the one who determines the nature of his relationship with the business world, and no one imposes anything on him. In Miami, last November, Messi told the American Business Forum, saying: “The business world is something that interests me. I would like to continue learning, because I know nothing, and I am still at the beginning of the road.” The investment portfolio prepared by his team is already impressive, while he continues to pursue more football goals to keep the passion alive.
