The soap opera about the future of Lionel Messi I reach its end. The Argentine star himself confirmed this Wednesday that his next destination will be the United States, to play with Inter de Miami.
Neither Barcelona, from the Spanish league, where they sighed for the return of the greatest star in their history, nor Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia, who had promised millions and millions to Messi, will finally get the services of the one who for many is the best footballer in the world in the 21st century.
“I made the decision that I’m going to go to Miami,” said the player in an interview granted to Barcelona newspapers Sports world and Sport from his home in Paris.
“I still haven’t closed it one hundred percent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue the path. If the Barcelona thing didn’t come out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family”, explained Messi, aforementioned by the agency EFE.
Shortly after, Inter Miami, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team that had made a formal proposal to the Argentine, confirmed it on social media with a suggestive post.
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) June 7, 2023
In the interview this Wednesday, Messi admitted that he was “very excited, very excited” to be able to return to Barcelona, but said that he ruled it out after “having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be there again in the same situation: waiting to see what was going to happen and leaving my future in someone else’s hands”.
He considered that the decision not to sign for the Spanish club is not exclusively his, because “many things” were missing and “a long summer” was expected, for which he preferred to make the decision before “to finish with this, be calm and think about vacations and in my future, already planning what I know will be possible”.
The player, who officially disassociates himself from Paris Saint-Germain on June 30, knew that to return to Barça, the club had to “sell players or lower player salaries” and for this reason “he did not want to go through that, nor take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that ”, sums up the Spanish media.
“After having achieved everything thanks to God and having finally achieved the World Cup, what I wanted so much, I wanted to look for something else as well and a bit of peace of mind,” he insisted, despite admitting that his family was “very excited” about the idea of returning to Barcelona.
Messi also stated that after the decision taken, everyone in his family “is happy”, although “also sad to leave”, since it was difficult for them to adapt to Paris, especially their children.
According to the player, the economic question “was never a problem or an obstacle” for his decision. “If it had been a matter of money, I would have gone to Arabia or elsewhere,” he said, even though it is estimated that at Inter Miami he could earn up to 100 million dollars, more than double his current salary, although below of the stratospheric offer from Saudi Arabia.
Asked about the possibility of joining his former teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets in his new team, he pointed out that he made his decision for him, and that he did not know what they would do. “I don’t have anything set up with anyone,” he said.
“The truth is that I had offers from another European team, but I didn’t even evaluate it because in Europe my only idea was to go to Barcelona. After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barça, it was time to go to the United States League to live football in a different way and enjoy day to day more ”, he reiterated.
After learning the news, Inter Miami has multiplied its followers on social networks. The price of tickets for Messi’s possible debut in his uniform has skyrocketed to more than $9,000, according to Brand.
The Miami soccer club is owned by the brothers Jorge and José Mas, sons of the Cuban-American businessman and staunch opponent of the island’s government Jorge Mas Canosa. In addition, it is co-owned by former English footballer David Beckham, founder of the club and his most media face.
