The rumor finally came true. Argentinian star Lionel Messi chose the United States club Inter Miami, not the Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal or the Spanish club Barcelona.
Messi himself confirmed this in an interview given to Spanish media Mundo Deportivo on Wednesday (January 7) night.
Spanish journalist Guillem Balague said in a tweet at around seven in the evening Bangladesh time that day, Messi is going to Inter Miami. A few hours after his tweet, the Argentine star himself confirmed his destination in an interview with Mundo Departivo.
"I have decided to join Miami," said Messi. Still not 100% complete all the work of the contract. A few things remain. But we have decided to move ahead with this goal.
Earlier, the Argentine star had been rumored to be leaving PSG, and several clubs had been interested in him in the past few months. Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal appeared with sacks of money. American club Inter Miami did not go down. Barcelona were also in talks, with the two clubs left helpless by the jingling of finances. But in the end, the 35-year-old star chose the American club.
Despite the World Cup winner's interest in moving to Barcelona, he is heading to America as there is no official offer from the Spanish giants yet. Inter Miami's deal also includes the inclusion of big brands like Adidas, Apple. Messi's journey to Europe is going to end with this. This is the first time this Barcelona icon is going to play outside of Europe.
Messi's contract with PSG expires on June 30. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has been speculating about the future destination of this football superstar for quite some time. Barcelona also began to struggle to bring Messi back to the Camp Nou. Messi was also interested in this return. The Spanish giants also received approval for Messi's registration from La Liga. Then Messi asked the Saudi club Al Hilal to wait. However, several reports say that Messi is upset that Barca did not make an official offer despite getting approval from La Liga. In the meantime, Guillem Balague said, not Barca or Al Hilal, Messi's destination is David Beckham's co-owned Inter Miami.
According to the report of Guillem Balague published in BBC, Inter Miami won the race to bring Messi to the team with the help of commercial partners. According to The Athletic, Messi will receive a share of the proceeds from the World Cup winner's Apple TV and MLS season pass. Adidas also said a dividend would be paid to the World Cup-winning star to further strengthen their long-term relationship with Messi. Besides, Messi also has a house in Miami.
At the beginning of this week, Messi's father said that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner wants to return to Barcelona. But they could not prepare any official proposal for Messi due to financial difficulties. Players like Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Albad left the club but it was not enough for Barca. The Catalan club will have to rebalance the salary structure by releasing a few players to register new players. The club president himself could not say when Barca could complete this task. Messi decided to leave Europe without looking at the alternative.
According to Forbes, a report published in Sport last week said that David Beckham's co-owned club Inter Miami offered Messi a 4-year contract. Under this contract, Messi will receive 50 million euros per year.
Messi was forced to end his 21-year relationship in 2021 due to Barcelona's financial woes. He won 672 goals, 10 La Liga, 4 Champions League and 7 Spanish Cups in Barca jersey. After that, this Argentine star scored 32 goals in 75 matches in 2 years in PSG. He finished the recently concluded season in League One with 16 goals and 16 assists.
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