Soccer legend Lionel Messi to play Toronto FC in 2024 at BMO Field

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Lionel Messi is coming to Toronto.

As announced today by the MLS, the league's most exciting star (assuming health and other factors) is officially scheduled to be coming to Toronto and playing next summer at BMO Field.

The match will take place on October 5, with kickoff time set for 7:30 p.m.

As Messi plays for the Eastern Conference rival Inter Miami, Toronto will also be travelling down to Florida to take him on next season on July 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Details about tickets are expected to be announced in the coming days.

Messi, who officially signed a two-and-a-half year deal with Inter Miami last July, played in just six MLS matches for the club in 2023, scoring a goal and adding two assists.

But it was the Leagues Cup — a tournament comprised of MLS and Liga MX teams from Mexico — where Messi showed off his world class skill set, scoring 10 goals in just seven matches en route to Inter Miami winning the title.

Messi spent nearly two decades with FC Barcelona before departing for France's Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. Having won a record eight Ballon D'or awards as the world's top player, the pinnacle of his career was reached at age 35 in 2022 when his Argentinian side won the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Both Miami and Toronto are hoping for better seasons than they had in 2023. Despite the midseason arrival of Messi, Miami won just nine of 34 league matches last year, finishing 14 in the Eastern Conference. Toronto, meanwhile, was even worse off, going 4-10-20 as they finished last place in the entire 30-team MLS.