After months — years, even — of speculation, Messi finally revealed on wednesday his decision to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another global soccer icon, David Beckham, since its inception but has yet to make any real splashes on the field.
“I made the decision that I am going to Miami. I still haven’t closed it one hundred percent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue my journey there,” said in an interview posted by Spanish outlets SPORT and Mundo Deportivo.
That likely will soon change. One of Inter Miami's owners, Jorge Mas, tweeted out a photo of a darkly silhouetted Messi jersey shortly before the Argentinian great revealed his decision in interviews with Spanish news outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
The blockbuster announcement comes months after Messi was awarded the Golden Ball at the World Cup – the prize given to the best player in the tournament – and catapulted his country to World Cup glory in December. It also followed rumors of a lucrative deal in the Middle East and reports of a move back to his beloved Barcelona.Instead, Messi has chosen the path of other superstar players who moved to the MLS.
Messi has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport's history. In more than 17 years of representing Argentina on the international stage, he has scored 102 goals against 38 different national team opponents — 16 of those goals coming on U.S. soil. He scored twice in last year's World Cup final against France, a match that officially ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing in penalty kicks.
Moving to David Beckham’s Inter Miami isn’t entirely surprising. Beckham is a well-known fan of Messi and, in 2019, teased, “You never know what can happen in football,” when asked about signing the Argentine one day.
League said in a Wednesday statement “We are pleased that Lionel Messi has stated that he intends to join Inter Miami and Major League Soccer this summer, Although work remains to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time to our League.”
Messi has lifted Barcelona in tears in 2021 after financial mismanagement at the club, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, meant it was unable to offer its talisman a new contract. At PSG, Messi went on to win two Ligue 1 titles in his two seasons, but was unable to help the club win the Champions League for the first time in its history.
Messi’s final season in Paris was loud. Though he scored 21 goals and 20 assists in all competitions, helping the team to the Ligue 1 title, PSG again failed to progress beyond the last 16 of the Champions League, the trophy the club covets the most.
Everyone knew he would not be back with PSG. Few likely thought he was heading to Miami. But here he is, a move to Miami by a superstar that might even be more shocking than LeBron James arriving to join the Heat 13 years ago.
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