A rare case in football! Messi will retire in Miami with zero transfer fees throughout his career, while Lukaku's total transfer fees exceed 360 million euros.

Since Argentina's 2022 World Cup victory, Messi has indisputably become a football legend and the sole reigning king on the field. Yet, Messi holds a rare distinction in football history: throughout his more than two-decade career, he has never incurred any transfer fees. Quite extraordinary, isn't it?

Inter Miami has officially announced a three-year contract extension with Messi, whose current deal expires at the end of this year. This extension runs until 2028, by which time Messi will be 41 years old. This means Messi will retire at Inter Miami, making Major League Soccer the final league of his professional career.

Messi came through Barcelona's youth academy and was promoted to the first team in the 2005-06 season. He stayed until the summer of 2021, when he left on a free transfer to join Paris Saint-Germain, where he played for two seasons before transferring freely again to Inter Miami in the summer of 2023.During his 16 years at Barcelona, Messi played 778 matches in all competitions, scoring 672 goals and providing 303 assists. At Paris, he featured in 75 games with 32 goals and 35 assists; at Inter Miami, over two-plus years, he has played 82 matches, scoring 71 goals and assisting 37 times.Messi has only played for three clubs: Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Inter Miami. Both of his transfers were free moves without any transfer fees, so his total transfer fee amount remains zero to this day. Nevertheless, these free transfers had a massive impact, bringing huge economic benefits to his new clubs, and Messi remains the most commercially valuable active player.

Comparing Messi’s zero transfer fees to Lukaku’s career total of 369 million euros in transfer fees shows a vast difference. We can understand that if not for Barcelona’s financial troubles, Messi might have stayed at Barcelona until retirement because true legends don’t need to transfer—Messi is the soul of the team. But since life has no “what ifs,” it’s fortunate for many fans worldwide to witness Messi’s talents, as most fans simply love to watch beautiful football, and watching Messi is watching beautiful football.