WATCH NOW
Watch on the app
Why Did Messi Decide To Join Inter Miami?
Lionel Messi‘s decision to join Inter Miami after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ended was a surprise to many. The Argentine star had just won the Ligue 1 title with PSG, and he was still the best player in the world. However, he ultimately decided to move to the United States and play for the club whose president is none other than David Beckham.
Why did Messi leave Paris?
“There were two years in which I was not happy, I did not enjoy myself, and that affected my family life,” said Leo in an interview jointly with the newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo, justifying his decision to leave France. “I missed a lot of my children’s lives at school. In Barcelona I went to look for them, here I did much less, shared fewer activities with them.”
For this reason, Leo himself admitted that his decision goes through well-being on a personal and family level, more than professional or economic: “The decision also goes through there, to meet again, in quotes, with my family, with my children, and enjoy the day to day. I was lucky to achieve everything in football and now it goes a little beyond sports, which also interests me, and much, much more the family. I did not want to leave my future in the hands of others. Somehow, I wanted to make my own decision thinking about myself, about my family”.
View this post on Instagram
In addition to Inter Miami, Messi also had offers from other clubs, including Barcelona and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal. Jorge Messi, Leo’s father and manager, had stated his intent for his son to return to the Spanish team that formed and watched him grow. However, there was no negotiation.
For starters, The Spanish League has to approve the economic plan for him to comply with the financial Fair Play and then make a formal offer to the striker. Among the needs, Barcelona should have reduced the wage bill of its current players by 200 million euros and, therefore, close the Barça TV channel.
View this post on Instagram
“Although I heard that it was said that La Liga had accepted everything and that everything was fine for me to return… there were still many other things missing. I heard that they had to sell players or lower player salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, or take charge or have anything to do with all of that,” Messi said to Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
“During my career at Barcelona I was already accused of many things that were not true and I was already a bit tired. I was afraid that the same thing would happen again and that I would have to rush like it happened then: that I had to come here to Paris, to stay in a hotel for a long time with my family, with my children going to school and still being in the hotel. I wanted to make my own decision. That’s why I didn’t turn to Barça.”
Al Hilal, the most successful club in Saudi Arabia and finalist in the Asian Champions League, put on the table an offer of 363 million euros per season, nine times more than what PSG paid him and much higher than Cristiano Ronaldo’s in Al Nassr.
Also Read: Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who is the King of Soccer?
Even though he would have become the highest paid soccer player in the world, Messi put the money aside and chose what his guts told him. “I had offers from other European teams but I didn’t even evaluate them because my idea was to go to Barcelona. If the Barcelona thing didn’t come out, I wanted to leave European football and much more after winning the World Cup, which was what I was missing.”
“I wanted to close my career on this side and live the United States League in a different way, enjoy day-to-day much more but with the same responsibility of wanting to win and always doing things well, but with more peace of mind. I made the decision that I am going to go to Miami,” he said to the newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
What does the contract between Messi and Inter Miami say?
In addition to the salary, which is close to 53 million dollars per year for three seasons – a seven times lower cash grab than Al Hilal’s offer – Leo will receive royalties for the extra income that the MLS has for new subscribers who join the Apple+ MLS Season Pass since the arrival of the Argentine.
View this post on Instagram
Both organizations have a 10-year agreement signed a few months ago for 2.500 million dollars and they are convinced that Messi’s arrival will trigger fans to subscribe. Apple also announced the release of a four-part documentary series that will show the five appearances of the historic Argentina 10 in the World Cups.
Another actor that appeared in the negotiation is Adidas, Leo’s historical sponsor and main sponsor of the MLS. Messi would also receive royalties for the firm’s profits that arrive starting from his landing in North America. The clothing brand and MLS have been partners since 1996 and recently signed a multi-year agreement in exchange for 830 million dollars.
Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu
The last leg of the offer comes directly from the MLS. It includes the possibility of Messi buying a league franchise. It’s the same financial technique they used when they brought David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Englishman, years later, became one of the owners of Inter Miami.
for the latest updates from LatiNation