Who does Lionel Messi support? Inter Miami star's boyhood teams and favourite clubs

Lionel Messi's place in football's unofficial hall of fame is secure. He will rightly go down as one of the greatest — if not THE greatest — ever to play the game.

Having won the coveted Ballon d'Or on a record eight occasions, as well as multiple league and Champions League successes plus that hitherto elusive World Cup triumph with Argentina that he sealed at the end of 2022, Messi's feats are not to be sniffed at.

He's done it all on an individual level and for his teams, which have been Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and, more recently, Inter Miami, as well as Argentina on the international scene, of course. Although his first taste of football was in the Newell's Old Boys academy in Rosario, he has only played professionally at club level in Europe and the United States.

But what about Messi's own personal footballing loves? The Sporting News reveals which teams are closest to his heart and the possibility he could tick them all off before he eventually retires.

MORE: When does Lionel Messi's 2024 season begin with Inter Miami?

Who does Lionel Messi support? Boyhood teams, favourite clubs

Born in Rosario, in Sante Fe, Argentina, Messi's first club as a very young boy was Grandoli, a local side he joined at the age of four that was coached by his father. His dream growing up was to play for Rosario's main professional team and the team he supported, which was Newell's Old Boys —who soon picked him up at the age of six.

Given Messi supported Newell's like many of his friends and peers, joining their academy was an accomplishment in itself. Reports say he scored almost 500 goals over a six- or seven-year period, as a member of 'The Machine of '87', the all-conquering youth team named after the year in which the players were born.

Messi was signed by Barcelona at the age of just 13 and, in all, spent 21 years at the Camp Nou club, first in the famous La Masia academy, then making his senior debut at the age of 17 before becoming an all-time legend. Having inspired Barca to 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies and the Champions League on four occasions — among other global and domestic gongs — it's fair to say Messi is held in extremely high esteem in Barcelona.

And the feeling is very much mutual. Messi loves Barcelona and left the club in 2021 in tears — a situation he didn't want to happen, but was forced upon both the player and the club due to financial issues.

Messi didn't seal the return to Barca that many expected in 2023 after his two years at Paris Saint-Germain — a team he probably wouldn't list among his favourites after an acrimonious departure —but he's teased the prospect that he could play for them again one day in the future.

Inter Miami will play a preseason friendly vs. Newell's Old Boys on Feb. 15

Leo Messi and Tata Martino to face their boyhood club 🤝 pic.twitter.com/cSU5UTd2JI

— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 18, 2023

Lionel Messi future teams: Will he return to Barcelona?

"I follow Barcelona, as I always said and I will continue to do so. It's the club I will love for my entire life," Messi said in the summer of 2023. So, despite now being 36 and past his peak years, he could well return to Europe and play under his old teammate Xavi should he chose to bring his spell in MLS to an end.

Alternatively, Messi could see out his playing days back at his beloved Newell's, having also said he would love to return to play for their first team since he never got a chance at the start of his career.

"I still have to play in Newell's and that is my dream," Messi told Ole in 2017. "But, as I was saying recently, I do not know what will happen a few years from now or how I will be to come back.

"I would love it and I always said it but I hope I can continue at this level to get back to Newell's because it's what I dreamed of since I was little."

Lionel Messi former clubs: Who has he played for in his career?

Here's how Messi's career has panned out since that breakout as a teenager at Barcelona to the modern day with MLS outfit Inter Miami, with whom he's contracted until the end of 2025.