Messi closed his book of legend long ago. A surprise afterword could be just as extraordinary

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At nearly 38, Lionel Messi will walk into the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States as the tournament's most decorated player, its most watched figure and perhaps its most improbable protagonist.

The World Cup winner, four-time Champions League conqueror and eight-time Ballon d'Or recipient has long since graduated from debates about greatness.

Yet the expanded Club World Cup offers something rare even for Messi: a new frontier.

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Should Inter Miami mount a deep run in a tournament long dominated by European powerhouses, it would not rewrite Messi's legacy - that was chiselled into marble long ago - but it would extend its reach into a final, unexpected chapter.

From Rosario to Barcelona, from Paris to Miami, Messi's journey has always defied convention. In 2025, he has the opportunity to do so again; this time, not as the talisman of a global giant, but as the visionary centrepiece of a North American football project still in its adolescence.

Even without kicking a ball next summer, Messi's CV reads a footballing myth. Four Champions League titles with Barcelona, 10 La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey triumphs and an international resurgence that delivered both the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup - the one prize that had eluded him.

Alongside Diego Maradona, he has become a national icon in Argentina; not merely a player but a cultural institution.

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In Barcelona, Messi elevated club football to a previously unimaginable realm. Between 2009 and 2015, he formed the most telepathic midfield-forward connection in football history with Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. He scored 91 goals in a single calendar year and broke virtually every meaningful club record.

By the time he left Catalonia, the club itself seemed permanently changed, its golden identity intrinsically tied to its greatest No.10.

Even his brief, sometimes unremarkable stint at Paris Saint-Germain added silverware: two Ligue 1 titles and 32 assists in 58 league appearances. But it was his return to Argentina's national team and that crowning moment in Qatar, lifting the World Cup at Lusail Stadium in 2022, that crystallised Messi's place in the pantheon. At that point, for most, the book was closed.

When Messi turned down a return to Barcelona and eye-watering offers from Saudi Arabia in 2023 to join Inter Miami, it came as a surprise to many.

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What followed was a transformative period for football in North America. Messi's debut sparked a 1,000 per cent surge in ticket prices. Matches sold out nationwide. Inter Miami, previously a fledgling MLS franchise, became a must-watch entity. He led them to their first major trophy, the 2023 Leagues Cup, scoring 10 goals in seven games. Crowds came not only for the spectacle, but for the credibility Messi brought.

He didn't arrive just to entertain. He came to win. And win he did. Immediately. Teammates like Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba joined, followed by Luis Suarez. David Beckham's vision of an MLS super-club had suddenly become a functioning reality.

Off the pitch, Messi's presence redefined the commercial potential of American soccer. Jersey sales shattered records. Subscriptions skyrocketed globally. Suddenly, football felt more mainstream in the United States than ever before.

Now comes the 2025 Club World Cup, a reimagined tournament featuring 32 teams, including Champions League royalty such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich.

For Messi and Inter Miami, it is a David vs Goliath scenario. Miami will not enter as favourites. But that may be precisely the point.

If Messi leads this MLS side into the knockout stages - against clubs with quadruple the budget, decades more pedigree and relentless European competitive edges - it won't matter if he lifts the trophy. The achievement will be in the journey. In defying expectations again, in elevating a team and a league still dismissed in European circles.

This expanded edition of the Club World Cup offers depth and complexity. It mirrors the World Cup in format and scale. Messi knows how to win in that arena.

His influence in the U.S. is already substantial. A meaningful run in this tournament could turbocharge that influence into something deeper and more lasting: a cultural shift in how the world views MLS and American football at large.

At this point in his career, Messi has nothing to prove. But legacy is not just about medals - it's about impact. And impact, as he's shown time and again, often comes when the stakes feel intangible: when he dribbled past Boateng in 2015, when he held the Copa América aloft in Brazil, when he signed for a team sitting 14th in MLS and turned them into title contenders.

If Messi dazzles next summer, if he scores against Real Madrid, or leads Inter Miami into the semi-finals, or even just delivers moments of individual brilliance on a stage dominated by European juggernauts, it will matter. It will remind us, again, why greatness is not just measured in numbers but in how long a player can stay brilliant, how far he can stretch his era and how deeply he can influence the game's global story.

The 2025 Club World Cup may not change the conclusion of Messi's career, but it just might add one more unforgettable chapter. And for the greatest player of all time, maybe that's the perfect way to sign off.