World Cup to UFC? Lionel Messi told ‘God-given gifts’ would make him a star in MMA as Argentine GOAT mulls over Inter Miami contract extension in MLS

That verdict has been delivered by former UFC star and South Florida resident Jorge Masvidal. He is among those keeping a close eye on Messi since seeing the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain playmaker go chasing the American dream in 2023. Quite the impact has been made in U.S. sport.

Messi remains a huge draw for audiences across the United States, with ticket prices soaring whenever he is in town. That is because everybody wants to catch a glimpse of the all-time great strutting his stuff. Inter Miami are hoping that he will continue to do that on their books for some time yet. Fresh terms with the Herons are being discussed, but no paperwork has been completed.

Messi is in no rush to hang up his boots, at 38 years of age, and is expected to represent his country at next summer’s World Cup - with Argentina entering that event as global title holders. There will, however, come a day when the South American icon has to walk away. It has already been suggested that he could move into club ownership at that stage.

Masvidal believes that Messi will be a success at whatever he turns his hand to, with there every reason to believe that he would have thrived - despite his diminutive stature - had a different sporting venture been pursued: Masvidal, speaking to BetIdeas, said: “Messi is a phenomenal athlete, and one thing about him is he's one of the most disciplined guys that’s ever walked the face of the earth. He’s in crazy good shape, but fighting is fighting, right? But yeah, definitely he could [compete in MMA]. With his mindset and his athletic gifts that God's given him, if he got after it and pursued it for a good amount of time. I'm sure he could do some things.”

Masvidal is enjoying watching Messi do his day job for now, with his stunning switch to the Sunshine State considered to be another indicator that Miami is fast becoming the home of U.S. soccer. Masvidal added: “We have a lot of good players from Miami, Florida. We were already on the soccer wave, so it was only right that Messi came here, where else would Messi go? He's not gonna go to California or Chicago or New York, he's gonna come to the place where soccer exploded the most.

“So he's just riding the wave that's already been here for soccer. Our mini soccer parks are all rented out from 11am to 11pm. I feel like it was already like that before Messi got here, so him getting here gave us more validation, the stamp of approval that we're the best in the nation at soccer.”

Messi is seemingly ready to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo by agreeing a deal that will take him beyond his 40th birthday. On the fighting front, it has been suggested that two eternal rivals should consider locking horns in the ring.

Former world champion boxer Amir Khan has said of Messi and CR7 lacing up gloves instead of boots: “That would be a great fight. I’d buy a ticket for that. We don’t know who the number one is. I like both - Ronaldo’s a great ambassador, so is Messi. But with the kind of money those guys are on, I don’t think they’d ever actually fight. They don’t need to.”

Messi - who remains in Golden Boot and MVP contention - is currently in the process of steering Inter Miami into the MLS play-offs, with ultimate glory being chased down in 2025. The Herons have three more regular season fixtures to take in, with the first of those set to see them play host to the New England Revolution on Saturday.