CNN –
Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi announced on Wednesday that he will join major league soccer club Inter Miami.
“I made the decision to go to Miami. I still haven’t closed it 100%. I’m missing some things, but we decided to continue my journey there,” said the seven-time World Player of the Year in an interview published by Spanish media SPORT and Mundo Deportivo.
The blockbuster announcement comes months after Messi was awarded the Golden Ball – the award for the best player of the tournament – at the World Cup and catapulted his country to the World Cup title in December. Rumors of a lucrative Middle East deal and reports of a move back to his beloved Barcelona also followed.
Instead, Messi has chosen the path of other superstar players who moved to MLS.
The move to David Beckham’s Inter Miami isn’t entirely surprising. Beckham is a well-known Messi fan and teased in 2019: “You never know what can happen in football” when asked if he would one day sign the Argentine.
Earlier Wednesday, the CEO and managing owner of Inter Miami tweeted a cryptic image of a number 10 shirt that had the last name partially revealed – just the last two letters, ‘SI’.
MLS said a deal with Messi is still pending but welcomed the prospect of Messi playing in the league.
“We are delighted that Lionel Messi has stated that he intends to join Inter Miami and Major League Soccer this summer,” the league said in a statement on Wednesday. “While we are still working to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of football’s all-time greats to our league.”
CNN has reached out to Inter Miami, Messi’s representatives and David Beckham – who is part of the Inter Miami ownership team.
There has been speculation about Messi’s next move since he announced his departure from French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and played his last game for the club on Saturday.
A previous BBC report by football reporter Guillem Balague said Messi was ready to turn down an offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
Messi left Barcelona in tears in 2021 after the club’s financial mismanagement, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, meant he was unable to offer his talisman a new contract.
FC Barcelona said in a statement that the player’s father and representative, Jorge Messi, informed club president Joan Laporta on Monday of his son’s decision to join Inter Miami despite an offer from the European team.
Laporta “understood and respected Messi’s decision to compete in a less demanding league, away from the limelight and the pressures he’s faced in recent years,” the statement said.
Laporta and the eldest Messi also agreed to work together to honor a “Barça fans’ tribute to a footballer who was, is and will always be loved by Barça”.
At PSG, Messi won two Ligue 1 titles in his two seasons but failed to help the club win their first Champions League.
Messi’s time at the club ended bitterly after PSG suspended him for an illegal trip abroad to Saudi Arabia, for which he later apologized.
His last game for PSG ended in defeat as the Ligue 1 champions lost 3-2 at home to Clermont Foot on Saturday.
Messi’s last season in Paris was turbulent. Despite scoring 21 goals and 20 assists in all competitions to help the side win the Ligue 1 title, PSG once again failed to progress beyond the last 16 of the Champions League, the trophy the club most aspires to.
In Messi’s last game – as in several recent games – some PSG fans booed the superstar.
Before his two-year stint at PSG, Messi spent 17 trophy-filled years at Barcelona where he went from school boy to sports legend.
Earlier this week his father had said that Messi’s preferred move would be a return to Barcelona.
In a recent interview with CNN Sport, Messi said he will keep playing as long as he still enjoys it and at 35 he still has a few years left.
“I’m just looking for … to keep having fun, to keep playing, which has always made me happy,” he said.
Correction: A previous version of this story gave the wrong date of Messi’s last game against Paris Saint-Germain. it was saturday