Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez has said he wants to retire alongside longtime teammate Lionel Messi, before maintaining that each player’s future does not depend on the other.
“I think we’re both quite old enough at this point. Each of us will make our decision, whatever is right for each of us, thinking about our personal well-being,” Suárez said on Tuesday.
“In my case, I’m not going to make a decision [right now]. I can tell you that I would love to retire with him because we’ve been talking about retiring together for years, and it could happen. It could happen, but it also depends on my renewal, his renewal, and well, each of us will make the right decision at the right time.”
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Both Suárez and Messi’s contracts with Inter Miami conclude at the end of the 2025 Major League Soccer season. Sources confirm to ESPN that conversations between the club and Messi remain ongoing for an extension, with each party eager to continue the relationship on and off the field.
Suárez insisted he wants to focus on the present rather than make a decision about the future right now, before emphasizing his commitment to helping Inter Miami grow as a club.
“Well, the truth is that I’m happy, I’m happy, I feel good physically, I feel like I’m helping the team and well, if the club wants, obviously we won’t have any problems because there’s nothing here that can weigh anything down, but that we’re both on the same path, that Inter continues to grow as a club, that we continue to be a tradition of bringing good players here and that the league continues to grow, it’s important,” Suárez said.
“When it comes to making the decision between now and the end of the year, you never know. In football you always have plans, sometimes they go well, sometimes they go badly, but what I have to do now at the moment is to have a short period that I am living, that I am living here at Inter and well, then we will see what will happen.”
For now, Suárez and Inter Miami will prepare to face Tigres UANL in the Leagues Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday night at Chase Stadium. Head coach Javier Mascherano confirmed Messi will not be ruled out for the match, despite the player training separately from the rest of the group amid an ongoing fitness concern.
Messi returned from a “minor” muscle injury on Saturday night when being substituted into the 3-1 win against the LA Galaxy in the second half. Though he recorded one goal and one assist, Mascherano confirmed Messi didn’t feel 100% comfortable when playing.
“Leo didn’t train with the group; he trained separately. It was a bit like the same situation I described the other day after the game, when he felt uncomfortable during those 45 minutes he played. Nothing, we’ll see during tomorrow’s training,” Mascherano said. “But he’s not ruled out. He’s not ruled out. I can’t tell you today if he’ll play or not. Because it depends a lot on how he feels.”
Inter Miami won the inaugural version of Leagues Cup in 2023, defeating Nashville SC in penalties to lift the trophy.
