Messi confirms he is going to Inter Miami: ‘Because Barcelona didn’t work out’
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Lionel Messi plans to continue his career with Inter Miami in the United States. The 35-year-old Argentine made this known in an exclusive interview to Spanish newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
Messi announces transfer to Miami: ‘Wanted to go to Barça, but it didn’t work out’
“I made the decision that I’m going to Miami. I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family,” Messi stated. “I had offers from European teams, but I didn’t even consider them. My idea was to go back to Barcelona, but since that didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe.”
That it didn’t work out was because Messi got the idea that Barcelona had to sell players or cut salaries to bring him in. He didn’t want to participate in that.
“Miami is not 100 percent complete yet, there is still something missing, but we did decide to go in that direction.”
No Saudi Arabia either
Messi said goodbye to Paris-Saint Germain on Sunday after two years. The striker, seven times voted best footballer in the world, was linked with Barcelona and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, where he could reportedly earn 400 million euros a year.
Messi himself says: “In any case, I didn’t choose for the money. If I had, I would have gone to Saudi Arabia.”
Former soccer player David Beckham is one of the owners of Inter Miami, where former Feyenoord goalkeeper Nick Marsman is under contract. Sports brand Adidas and tech giant Apple are said to help make Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami possible.
Currently, Italian Lorenzo Insigne is a major earner in Major League Soccer, the American soccer league. The Toronto striker has an annual salary of 14 million euros. Messi is expected to earn much more.
Inter Miami is underperforming this season. The club is last in the Eastern Conference after 16 games.
Greatest Of All Time
Even though Messi himself says the deal is not yet complete, Major League Soccer is already announcing his arrival big time on Twitter. “The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) is here.”
And major American TV channel Fox Soccer is also confirming Messi’s arrival in the United States.
Messi had to leave Barcelona in 2021 after 21 years because the club could no longer pay him. He announced his departure in tears at the time and signed for two years in Paris.
In the French capital, he did not achieve the hero status he had in Barcelona, but he still accounted for 21 goals and 20 assists in all competitions this season. He also became national champion with PSG.
Messi captured the world title with Argentina late last year, the only top prize still missing from his impressive list of honors.
Listen below to an interview with FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes about the transition of world star Lionel Messi to league rival Inter Miami.
