Official: Lionel Messi joins Inter Miami

Lionel Messi’s future has been one of the running debates and discussions in the football world for months, but now it has finally reached a conclusion: the Argentinian superstar has joined MLS side Inter Miami.

Embed from Getty Images

This union had years in the making, with Messi even making a video supporting the club’s start a few years ago when David Beckham announced the project. However, considering the Argentinian’s staying power and the fact that, even to this day, has been able to perform at a high level in top football, the idea of him joining the MLS didn’t seem likely.

The fact this is the first time that Messi is going to play outside of Europe is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed, and there were a lot of reports saying that he was tempted by Arabian side Al-Hilal because of their substantial financial offer. The Saudi Arabian league has been signing a lot of top-level players, such as Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, in recent months, but Messi opted to go to Miami, where he already has a house rented and spends vacations there with his family.

The deal involves negotiations with both Adidas and Apple to make it happen. David Beckham obviously knows the commercial draw that Messi brings to the table and his brand would push Inter Miami to unseen heights from a marketing perspective, which is one of the many reasons why they wanted to sign the Argentinian starlet.

Messi was even very vocal about the interest of his former club, FC Barcelona, to bring him back and stated that he knew it required a few sales and financial sacrifices, which the Argentinian thought was too much for the club and didn’t want them to go through that. Barcelona, on the other hand, released a statement saying something along those lines, although claiming that Messi preferred joining Inter Miami.

He also stated that if it was about money, he would have gone to Saudi Arabia. According to some reports, it seems that Messi wanted to focus on the lifestyle for his next team, with his partner, Antonella, not very keen on moving to Saudi Arabia, which was a big reason for this transfer. As Messi and his family were used to Miami and that environment, it seemed like a much more fitting place to go.

It seems that Lionel Messi’s time in Europe has come to an end and while his time in Paris Saint Germain has been divisive, to say the least, when it comes to the French club faithful, the Argentinian has achieved every possible accolade in football. Messi winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 only cemented the notion that he has nothing left to play for at the top level and now seems to prioritize his own personal interests rather than professional ones.

🚨🚨 BREAKING: Lionel Messi to Inter Miami, here we go! The decision has been made and it will be announced by Leo in the next hours #InterMiami

🇺🇸 Messi will play in MLS. No more chances for Barcelona/Al Hilal despite trying to make it happen.

𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄 𝐆𝐎#Messi #MLS pic.twitter.com/OTYWIlEzNc

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 7, 2023

If so, this has been the career of one of the greatest footballers of all time, and there is a very strong argument to say he is the best there’s been in the history of the game. And that is something worth praising.