Lionel Messi Clears Up Wild Rumors of European Transfer

Messi has opened up about becoming a “burden” for Argentina.

Lionel Messi has a contract at Inter Miami until 2028. / Rich Storry/Getty Images

Lionel Messi outlined his plans for 2026 in the buildup to next summer’s World Cup and a move away from Inter Miami was, funnily enough, not on the agenda.

Fanciful whispers about a short-term loan spell back in Europe during the upcoming MLS off-season recently began to form at the edges of the internet. Turkish champions Galatasaray emerged as an unlikely landing place for Messi.

Those rumors were given some unexpected heft by Gala’s president Dursun Özbek claiming that his club could afford to supplement the Argentine’s wage if he were to maintain his fitness ahead of the World Cup with a sojourn on the Bosphorus.

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“Our season is different from the European one,” Messi explained to SPORT as he distanced himself from a short-term exit. “We’ll have a preseason in between, few matches until the World Cup.”

Miami’s last game this year will be no later than Dec. 6, and that’s assuming they make it to MLS Cup for the first time in their history. The 2026 domestic campaign is not expected to start up until February, presenting Messi with two months of inactivity shortly before the World Cup gets underway in June.

“It’s a special World Cup,” Messi said of what will be his record-breaking sixth appearance at the tournament. “It’s special to play with the national team, and other important, official competitions, especially considering what a World Cup means, and after having won it.”

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Messi: I Don’t Want to Be a Burden for Argentina

Lionel Messi and Argentina won the 2022 World Cup. / Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Messi has recently warmed to the idea that he will be involved in Argentina’s World Cup defense. However, the 38-year-old stressed more caution in his latest interview: “I don’t want to be a burden, so to speak. I want to feel good physically, to be sure that I can help and contribute to the group, to the squad.”

“We’ll see day by day if I really feel physically fit enough to be where I’d like to be and be able to participate,” he continued. “But obviously, I’m aware that it’s a World Cup, and it’s special, and that the World Cup is the biggest competition there is. So, I’m excited, but taking it one day at a time.”

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