Off to the land of unlimited opportunities: football superstar Lionel Messi wants to play for David Beckham’s US club Inter Miami in the future. The 35-year-old world champion from Argentina announced this himself in an interview with the two Spanish sports newspapers “Mundo deportivo” and “Sport”.
“The decision has been made that I’m going to Miami,” he said. They are not yet 100 percent in agreement and “a few things still need to be clarified, but we have decided that I will continue on my way there,” he explained. He did not reveal any details, nor anything about a possible contract period with Miami.
Messi’s arrival is the biggest transfer in the 27-year history of MLS, only Beckham’s move can match that, ESPN wrote. According to information from the broadcaster, Messi should also have an option to participate in Inter.
Free transfer to MLS
After two rather emotionless years at Paris Saint-Germain, he can move to Major League Soccer on a free transfer. Nothing came of the return to FC Barcelona after two years, which many fans – and he himself – longed for. The alleged offer of billions from Saudi Arabia could not seduce Messi either. After the failure of a Barcelona return, he wanted to leave Europe and move a bit out of the limelight, said Messi: He also thought about his family.
At the beginning of 2018, the founding of Inter Miami in the USA was announced as the 25th club in the MLS. In March, two years later, the team, for which Jerome Kiesewetter from Berlin also played for a short time, played its first league game. Beckham, former England star player, is one of the co-owners.
The external impact for football in the USA should be enormous – and at the right time. In 2026, the United States will host the World Cup along with Mexico and Canada. Before the coronation in Qatar in December, Messi had repeatedly emphasized that the finals in 2022 would be his last World Cup. He categorically did not repeat it afterwards. The move to the country of the future main host should also fuel these speculations.
Argentinian coach coming?
The fact that his new club is currently last in the Eastern Conference couldn’t stop Messi from switching continents. Miami recently parted ways with coach Phil Neville, and Javier Morales is temporarily coaching the team – a 43-year-old Argentinian and therefore Messi’s compatriot. The Argentine sports newspaper “Olé” has already reported an interest in Gerardo Martino, former Argentine national coach and like Messi from Rosario.
The broadcaster TyC Sports also brought up player names such as Sergio Busquets, icon of FC Barcelona and available for free from this summer for the time being, or Messi’s Uruguayan attacking friend Luis Suárez, currently with Grêmio Porto Alegre in Brazil, as Messi’s future teammates. The seven-time world footballer has also played successfully with both at FC Barcelona.
In contrast to the more than two decades with the Catalans, he had not helped Paris Saint-Germain to great success in the Champions League. There hadn’t been much left of the Messi mania in August 2021 in the past few months, the magic had evaporated and Messi had even been repeatedly whistled at by PSG fans. The fact that he made an unannounced short trip to Saudi Arabia as a tourism ambassador, for which he had been suspended for around a week, seemed just further evidence of the inner conflict.
Million offer from Al-Hilal
Since then there has only been speculation. Al-Hilal’s offer in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom where Cristiano Ronaldo already plays and Karim Benzema will play, was beyond imagination. There was even talk of around one billion euros. The comeback at Camp Nou, however, failed due to the financial situation of Messi’s heart club, which had not been able to hold him two years ago for the same reason.
After a meeting between Messi’s father and manager Jorge Messi and Barcelona President Joan Laporta earlier in the week, many questions remained unanswered, with the club’s boss reportedly unable to offer any guarantees for Messi. Almost in the background, they have been working on the coup in the USA for months. There were already pictures of Messi’s vacations in Miami, and that he could land was already speculated when he left Barcelona in the summer of 2021.
The league has become very creative with all of this, “everything is on the table,” said an MLS representative to The Athletic portal. Technology giant Apple is also involved in the financing plan. The MLS sponsor – a ten-year contract worth 2.5 billion dollars was signed in the spring – should therefore offer a share of the streaming revenue. Apple also announced on Tuesday that it would broadcast a four-part documentary series covering Messi’s five World Cup appearances.
The German sporting goods manufacturer Adidas, one of the largest MLS sponsors for many years and contractually even lifelong with Messi, is also there. “The overall financial package would probably be difficult to reject,” wrote the “Miami Herald”.