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Indy100 Staff
Jun 07, 2023
Football Legend Lionel Messi To Join Inter Miami
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Football legend Lionel Messi will join MLS club Inter Miami, in a move to America that has surprised footy fans.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner recently announced the news in an interview with Spanish publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
"I’m going to join Inter Miami. The decision is 100% confirmed,” Messi told the publications on Wednesday (June 7).
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It comes as the 35-year-old's contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of the month, following two seasons at the French club where he helped PSG win the Ligue 1 title twice.
Many thought the World Cup-winning Argentine would follow in the footsteps of fellow football star Cristiano Ronaldo who earlier this year moved to Saudi Arabia to play for Al Nassr, with his contract estimated to be worth $220m.
“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," Messi said, with Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal reportedly interested.
“The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money”.
\u201chttps://t.co/pgu2mE7zlY\u201d— Inter Miami CF (@Inter Miami CF) 1686165647
While work remains to finalise a formal agreement with Messi, the MLS stated.
Messi spent the majority of his European football career at Barcelona where he started out as a youth player and went on to become the one of most successful footballers, winning 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League titles.
In his recent interview, the footballer expressed his desire to return to Camp Nou after the club's financial woes two years ago forced him to leave but added he didn't want to come back under similar circumstances.
"I really wanted, I was very excited to be able to return, but, on the other hand, after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again: wait to see what was going to happen and leave my future in someone else’s hands, so to speak," he said.
The move to Inter Miami has surprised many, given that the side - co-owned by David Beckham - is currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference while head coach Phil Neville was fired last week.
So no doubt Messi's arrival will excite both the team and fans.
Here are some of the best reactions to Messi's move to Inter Miami:
\u201cSpeed\u2019s reaction to Messi going to the MLS \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Speedy Updates (@Speedy Updates) 1686167564
\u201c@FabrizioRomano End of an era\ud83d\udd4a\ufe0f\u201d— Fabrizio Romano (@Fabrizio Romano) 1686155146
\u201c@FabrizioRomano Can\u2019t believe Messi is gonna be visiting places now like Cincinnati & Foxborough, Massachusetts \ud83e\udd23\u201d— Fabrizio Romano (@Fabrizio Romano) 1686155146
\u201cCan\u2019t wait to see Messi play in the MLS\u2026\n\nHe may be your Goat, but he has to prove to me that he can do it on a cold, snowy, #MLSafterDark night in Denver\u201d— Liam (@Liam) 1686170923
\u201cBarcelona fans spent a season clapping for Messi in the 10th min of every game just for him to choose Miami beaches over a Barca return.\n\nhttps://t.co/0EIHZ90kif\u201d— Troll Football (@Troll Football) 1686161670
\u201cMLS and US Soccer genuinely have the opportunity to exponentially grow this game in this country over the next couple years\n\nI really hope they get this right. This is the chance of a lifetime\u201d— Cameron Meyer (@Cameron Meyer) 1686166169
\u201cWe were six days out from Phil Neville being Lionel Messi\u2019s manager and I\u2019m beyond gutted that it won\u2019t be happening\u2026\u201d— Edward Walker (@Edward Walker) 1686166751
\u201cthinking about how he could\u2019ve been coached by phil neville\u201d— joe (@joe) 1686155563
\u201cWe were only a week away from Phil Neville being Messi\u2019s Manager\u201d— Aaron \ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffb (@Aaron \ud83e\udd0c\ud83c\udffb) 1686155277
\u201cWithin 6 hours\u2026\n\nThe Lionel Messi effect is CRAZY.\u201d— george (@george) 1686168919
\u201chttps://t.co/DWWdtfJuem\u201d— \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f (@\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f) 1686160695
\u201cWe might be last in the east but we're getting Messi\nhttps://t.co/rdT97zCL8p\u201d— Fifth Gear (@Fifth Gear) 1686156803
\u201cHard to wrap my head around how big this actually is, one of the most famous people in the entire world coming to play in the US, all eyes on the American footy scene just 3 years before we host the World Cup\u201d— juice (@juice) 1686156663
\u201cRonaldo moved to Saudi, Messi to America. it's really over guys \ud83d\ude25\u201d— Tahir (@Tahir) 1686161509
\u201cRonaldo & now Messi no longer in the t5 leagues with Zlatan retiring. I officially feel old.\u201d— The Beautiful Game (@The Beautiful Game) 1686155864
\u201cHe completed football now he has to complete soccer \ud83d\udc10\u201d— \u1306 (@\u1306) 1686161933
Elsewhere, David Beckham is getting savaged for his Man City treble take.
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