Lionel Messi has made his feelings clear on becoming a manager when he retires

Lionel Messi has made his feelings clear on whether he will become a manager when he hangs up his boots.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is 37 now but showing no signs of slowing down and has 22 goals and 13 assists in 23 games for Inter Miami, who he has led to the MLS Supporters' Shield for the first time.

After topping the Eastern Conference, the Herons are vying to win the MLS Cup after qualifying for the play-offs - with Messi looking for his 47th career trophy.

He is still doing the business with Argentina on the international stage but the reality is that Messi will not be strutting his stuff on the pitch forever as he is in the final stage of his career.

But the Barcelona legend has already admitted that he does not plan on following in the footsteps of the likes of Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez in transitioning into a coach when he hangs up his boots.

Speaking in an in-depth interview with Fabrizio Romano for Apple TV, Messi said: “I’m not planning to become a manager when I will retire. This is not something I’m considering to do”.

Inter will feature in the Club World Cup next year, while Miami are also one of the hosts for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

However, Messi isn't thinking too far ahead about whether he will be appearing in a final World Cup tournament and is instead focusing on living in the present.

Image: Getty

"I value a lot more than before everything I do daily, so the only thing that I’m thinking about is playing, training and enjoying myself," he explained.

“The truth is that I don’t know, I have been asked several times, especially in Argentina. I hope to have a good end of the season and then a good preseason, something I didn’t have last season because of all the traveling we did.

“From then on I want to see what happens, to see how I feel. A lot of things always happen in football. There’s still a long way to go, so I’m not thinking too much about it. I’m going to live day by day without thinking too much about the future.”

Messi is back in action on Saturday as they take on Atlanta United in their second of three play-off fixtures. Inter won the first game 2-1 courtesy of goals from Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba