‘I’m not going back to Barca, I’m going to Inter Miami’: Lionel Messi breaks his silence to CONFIRM blockbuster move to MLS – saying he’s made the decision to ‘step out of the spotlight’ with his family “.
- Lionel Messi has confirmed his landmark move to MLS club Inter Miami FC
- This comes after he turned down moves to Saudi Arabia and former club Barcelona
- Messi has decided not to renew his contract at Paris Saint-Germain earlier this season
Lionel Messi has confirmed he will join Inter Miami CF in a deal that reportedly includes an option for the Argentine to become a part owner of the MLS team.
There has been much speculation over the past few weeks about the 35-year-old’s next move, with Messi heavily linked with moves to Saudi Arabia and Barcelona.
But it seems he’s finally made up his mind despite reports that he’s been offered a mammoth £2billion deal that could have taken him to Saudi Pro-League club Al-Hilal.
The world champion is also heavily linked with a fairytale move back to his former club Barcelona, but amid the financial struggles at the La Liga giants, Messi has instead opted for a move to Inter Miami.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, he said: “I’m not going back to Barça, I’m going to Inter Miami.”
Lionel Messi has confirmed he will join Inter Miami, snubbing Barcelona and Saudi Arabia in the process
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas tweeted this photo five minutes before the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner made his announcement
Messi (left) will now join David Beckham’s (centre) MLS squad.
Mail Sport understand that Messi – who won four Champions League titles with the Blaugrana and scored 672 goals in 778 games for the club – will be offered a lucrative deal with the MLS club that could also include deals with adidas.
ESPN also reports that its deal with the American side includes one Option that could lead to him becoming a part owner of the football club and a portion of subscription revenue from Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.
His father Jorge had reportedly met with Barcelona president Joan Laporte earlier this week but apparently Messi doesn’t want to return to his former club.
Responding to rumors he could return to Barcelona, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner said: “I really wanted to.” [to return to Barcelona]I was very excited to be able to return, but after experiencing what I had experienced and the exit I had, I didn’t want to be in the same situation again: waiting for what would happen and leaving my future in my hands from another.
“I wanted to make my own decision and think about myself and my family. Although I heard that LaLiga accepted everything and that everything was fine for his return, there were still many other things that needed to be done.
🚨🚨 BREAKING: Lionel Messi on Inter Miami, here we go! The decision has been made and will be announced by Leo in the next few hours #InterMiami
🇺🇸 Messi will play in MLS. No more chances for Barcelona/Al Hilal despite trying to achieve that.
𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄 𝐆𝐎#Messi #MLS pic.twitter.com/OTYWIlEzNc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 7, 2023
Messi (back right) was pictured on vacation with his family in Saudi Arabia earlier this year
In the news, Major League Soccer also expressed their delight at the news that Messi had signed
“I have heard that [Barcelona] “I had to sell players or take player salaries down and the truth is I didn’t want to go through that and I didn’t want to take responsibility for getting anything related to that.”
“I’ve been accused of a lot of things that weren’t true in my Barcelona career and I was a bit tired, I didn’t want to go through that.” And well, when I had to leave, LaLiga had also accepted that they signed me would, and in the end it wasn’t possible.
“Well I was afraid that the same thing would happen again and I had to witness the bullfight when it happened that I had to come here to Paris to stay in a hotel with my family and kids for a long time. “ Going to school and still being in the hotel… I wanted to make my own decision and that’s why I didn’t approach Barça a bit. Although I would have loved it, I couldn’t.
Messi was crowned world champion after winning the World Cup with Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, adding another piece of silver clothing to a glittering trophy cabinet
He left Barcelona in 2021 after spending 21 years at the club and winning 32 major titles with the LaLiga giants
“I’m also at a moment where I’m a bit out of focus and want to think more about my family.” As I just said, I’ve spent two years on a family level that was so bad I didn’t enjoy it . I had a spectacular month for myself because I won the World Cup, but getting rid of it was a difficult stage for me.”
A statement from Major League Soccer said: “We are delighted that Lionel Messi has stated that he intends to join Inter Miami and Major League Soccer this summer.” to welcome one of the greatest footballers of all time to our league.”
Continue…
