World Cup 2022 winner and former Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi confirmed his decision to join MLS side Inter Miami, snubbing Barcelona and the mega billion-dollar carrot dangled before him in the form of Saudi Arabia’s lucrative Al-Hilal contract.
“I made the decision that I’m going to go to Miami,” Messi said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo and Sport newspapers on Wednesday.
“I still haven’t closed it 100 percent. I’m still missing a few things, but we decided to go ahead. If Barcelona didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family,” the seven-time Ballon d’Or award winner added.
The 35-year-old’s move effectively ended months of speculation and stunned football fans worldwide as Inter Miami had always appeared by comparison a more diminutive option for the footballer whom many, fans and football luminaries alike, regaled as the GOAT perched on the summit of the game.
The decision for Messi to join co-founders Jorge and Jose Mas, along with football luminary David Beckham, at Inter Miami comes in the wake of a monumental 15-year career run, with the Argentine wizard explaining that he had at the last minute gone tangential to the Barca deal as he did not want to be left again to the mercies of others after what had happened to him two seasons ago and that all he wanted was something meaningful for him and his family, which he obviously feels the MLS deal would offer.
“Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to want to win and to always do things well. But with more peace of mind,” the 806 goalscorer voiced in his groundbreaking interview.
It was widely believed that Messi would have eventually chosen to play for Al-Hilal, following the footsteps of longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo as Al-Hilal had apparently made one last contract offer to Messi’s camp worth $1.6 billion over three years, according to Barcelona-based reporter Helena Condis on Wednesday.
For Messi, money wasn’t at all a motivator.
“If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money,” Messi voiced.
“I really wanted to return to Barça, I had that dream. But after what happened two years ago, I did not want to be in the same situation again, leaving my future in the hands of someone else.”
“I wanted to take my own decision, thinking of me and my family.”
The United States phase is representative and symbolic of a more relaxed environment holistically for the Messi clan besides being also a more than adequate financial incentive.
While the financial details of Messi’s Inter Miami contract have not been released, it is understood he reportedly will be given an ownership stake along with a cut of the revenue from Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, which promotes the league’s games, and will be able to maximize his existing sponsorship deal with Adidas.
Known as one of the world’s most recognizable footballers and athletes, Messi’s move to MLS is expected to drive up viewers as the US kicks up to host the 2026 World Cup.
The MLS earns a straight fee in the region of $250 million per year from Apple until it runs a specific brink of subscriptions from viewers, beyond which it will make a share of the revenue from those subscriptions.