FIFA controversially awarded Lionel Messi's Inter Miami a backdoor route into the tournament, ensuring the sport’s biggest name would be there after he propelled soccer to new heights in a country often ambivalent to the world’s most popular game.

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.