Messi prefers move into club ownership after playing

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Lionel Messi would prefer to become a club owner rather than a coach when he quits as a player, the Argentina soccer star has said.

In October, he signed a three-year contract extension with Inter Miami to take him through the 2028 season.

"I don't see myself as a coach," the 38-year-old Messi told the Luzu TV streaming channel in an interview recorded in December that aired Tuesday. "I like management, but if have to decide for one of the three I would like to be an owner.

"I would like to have my own club, to be able to grow it, to start from the bottom and to be able to give the kids, the people, the opportunity to grow and make it an important club. If I had to choose, that's what would appeal to me most."

Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022, is already a part owner of Uruguay's fourth-division team Deportivo LSM, which is co-owned by Inter teammate Luis Suarez.

"Deportivo LS is a family dream that began in 2018. We have grown a lot with more than 3,000 members," club founder Suarez said last May in a video alongside Messi. "I want to offer Uruguayan soccer, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow."

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi also has a future minority ownership stake in Inter included in his contract.

Messi won the MLS Golden Boot this season after scoring 29 goals, five more than LAFC's Denis Bouanga and Nashville's Sam Surridge. He also had 19 assists, and his 48 total goal contributions was one shy of matching the league record set by Carlos Vela in 2019.

Messi also became the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards in MLS history.

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