Lionel Messi, the greatest player of his generation, if not of all time, arrives in MLS with Inter Miami.
After years of rumors, the player made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
“I’ve decided I’m going to Miami, I don’t have [a deal] 100% done or maybe there are things to do, but we’ve decided to continue our journey there” , Messi told Spanish newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo. The American club and league made the same kind of announcement a few minutes later on social media.
The Argentinian needs no introduction; Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, 2022 World Cup champion, four-time Champions League winner and six-time European Golden Boot winner, he was quite simply the best player of the 21st century.
Aged 35 – he will be 36 at the end of June – the man nicknamed La Pulga is still among the cream of world soccer. It is also highly likely that he will be in the running for the next Ballon d’Or. So why would he leave the Old Continent for sunny Miami? Short answer: money, family, and security.
After spending his entire European career with FC Barcelona, Messi has worn the colors of Paris Saint-Germain for the past two campaigns. After an early elimination in the Champions League, the divorce between the French capital club and Messi has materialized. His contract with PSG will end on June 30.
“It was affecting my family life, I was missing out on a lot of my children’s life at school. In Barcelona, I was going to look for them, here I did it much less, I did less activity with them”, according to Messi.
It was therefore in the face of this desire for a change of scenery and this information in hand that three candidates contacted Messi: FC Barcelona, Inter Miami and Al-Hilal, a Saudi club.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the most reputable informant in the world of football, Messi’s priority has always been to close the loop at Barcelona.
However, the president of the Blaugranas, Joan Laporta, was unable to offer him guarantees on the feasibility of his return. Due to Barca’s financial problems, the club had to do financial gymnastics and quickly get rid of players to afford Messi. Add in the Financial Fair Play rules which require clubs to spend a reasonable sum on talented players and it was an impossible love affair.
“I wanted to return to Barca, but I didn’t want to leave my future in someone else’s hands,” he added in an interview with Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
In a statement, FC Barcelona claimed to have made a genuine offer to Messi. However, without guarantee, he then turned to another option.
Two camps have emerged in recent weeks in Lionel Messi’s case. First, Al-Hilal offered a windfall of around C$1.5 billion for a two-year contract, according to Romano.
However, Messi’s family, his wife Antonella and children, were not keen on the idea of living in Saudi Arabia, and as they were at the heart of the decision-making process, the choice of the left-hander stopped. on David Beckham’s club.
Without offering him income as high as he would have earned in the Middle East, Miami pulled out all the stops to lure Messi to MLS.
According to The Athletic, Adidas and Apple have made substantial offers to No. 10 to see him play in MLS.
Adidas, who awarded Messi a lifetime contract in 2017, have reportedly offered the Argentinian a portion of the revenue he will generate from his move. The German outfitter is in charge of designing the jerseys of all teams on the Garber circuit until 2030. At that time, Messi will be retired.
For its part, Apple is also said to have submitted a share of its revenue to Messi. The Californian giant takes care of broadcasting all MLS matches on its Apple TV platform and Messi could receive some form of contribution depending on the number of subscribers he attracts. On Tuesday, Apple announced it would produce a four-episode documentary series promising “exclusive behind-the-scenes access to global superstar Lionel Messi.”
Messi would also be entitled to a clause in his contract allowing him to buy a stake in an MLS club after retiring. A deal similar to the one David Beckham made when he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy, The Athletic reported.
The arrival of Messi in Miami will certainly cause a media shock wave, but it will especially shake up many things on the sporting level.
First, last week the club sacked head coach Phil Neville. Several media reported that Gerardo Martino could replace the Englishman as full-time instructor.
The one who is better known as Tata Martino managed Messi twice, with FC Barcelona in 2013 and 2014, then with the Argentinian national team. The 60-year-old already knows how MLS works, as he was in charge of Atlanta United for two seasons and won the MLS Cup.
He has also already managed two offensive players for the club, namely Josef Martínez, with Atlanta, and Rodolfo Pizarro, with the Mexican national team.
This electroshock, the club really needs it. As of this writing, Miami is last in the Eastern Conference. Since the injuries of Brazilian midfielders Jean Mota and Gregore, the club has been in freefall.
These absences of size are also felt in front, while the club has difficulty finding the back of the net. Martínez and Leonardo Campana are the only members of the squad with more than one goal to their name. Only three MLS teams have fewer goals this season than Miami.
The club also have their hands tied in terms of designated player contracts, so they will not be able to distribute other contracts with pharaonic sums to support Messi unless there is a transaction.
It is in this context that the Argentinian will arrive. The club, in search of identity, will need all the magic of Messi. He has proven himself a magician everywhere and he will have to repeat the same trick in Miami if he wants to save the team’s season.
The odds of Lionel Messi facing CF Montreal this season are next to nil. First, Inter Miami and CF Montreal have already faced each other twice this season, once in Miami, once in Montreal. There is therefore no other duel scheduled for the schedule between the two clubs this season. However, there remains a glimmer of hope for Montreal fans. Inter Miami and CF Montreal could meet in the Coupe des Ligues, which will be held in July and August, or possibly in the playoffs. Note that for the moment, neither of the two formations is in the portrait of the playoffs.
