Messi has decided to move to Miami and join the MLS Inter Miami team for next season. He had many other teams from other countries, but opted to play for Inter Miami.
The deal with Messi and Inter Miami is not done, but Messi still decided to join Miami’s team. According to the Barca Blaugranes staff, Messi is very happy with his decision to move to Inter Miami this summer.
By BBC Newsround
“I’ve made the decision that I’m going to Miami. It’s still not a done deal 100 per cent. I’m missing a few things but we’ve decided to keep going down the path,” said Messi, “If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, leave the spotlight and focus more on my family.
Lionel Messi played for five football clubs, he decided to leave the Paris St. Germain club to join Inter Miami. Messi did have other options like going back to playing for the team he loves, Barcelona. The problem is that Barcelona don't have enough in the wage budget to offer Messi a high wage contract. Messi’s other option was Saudi Arabia and it wouldn’t have been an uncomfortable choice because he already has a tourism ambassador deal with the country. Saudi Arabia reportedly offered Messi a 3 year, 1.6 billion deal to play for their league. In Spite of that, Messi chose to join the Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer.
“Messi made plain that in an ideal world, he would have returned to Catalonia. He “obviously really wanted to return,” Andrew Das and Robin Smith said, “I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about myself and my family,” he said, describing a move away from Europe entirely as a chance to “look for something else, and find a little peace of mind.”
By Investopedia
According to Huddle Up, Messi’s decision surprised a lot of people since MLS is no in the top 10-15 leagues in the world and Inter Miami is one of the worst teams in the U.S. league. So Messi joining the MLS league is going to help their popularity more than when David Beckham moved to the LA Galaxy.
“Should the deal be completed, it would be the biggest coup for M.L.S. since it lured Beckham in 2007, when he joined the Los Angeles Galaxy,” Das and Smith said.
Since “capturing” Messi MLS got more attention from the public. The MLS Instagram followers have increased since Messi announced he was moving to Inter Miami. The ticket sales for Inter Miami used to be $29 but with the news of Messi moving to the league it increased to $329.
“Capturing Messi would, if anything, deliver even more attention to the league in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada,” Das and Smith said.
By AS USA
Messi is one of the greatest players in his generation and his move to Inter Miami increases MLS’s popularity in the world.
*Originally posted in Standpoint News, Summer 2023
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