Lionel Messi is coming to the MLS. Yes, you heard that correctly. The World Cup winner decided on Wednesday that he will sign with David Beckham's Inter Miami and plans to join the club this summer. This was rumored for many, many months and now it becomes a reality.
But, why exactly did Messi choose Inter, a side at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, over a Barcelona reunion or a mammoth move to Saudi Arabia? Well, to be clear, Barca wasn't completely realistic, unfortunately. Messi and his father met with Joan Laporta to discuss a potential move, but the LaLiga champions are still in enough financial trouble that bringing back their most legendary player ever was a pipe dream. The only way it can still happen is if Miami decides to loan Messi to Spain, but that feels unlikely. I mean, they want him to help this club become a force in Major League Soccer as soon as humanly possible.
As for Saudi Arabia, Cristiano Ronaldo's rival club, Al-Hilal, was the one chasing Messi's signature. In fact, they were prepared to pay him in the ballpark of €400 million per season. Keep in mind, he already gets paid more than €100 million per year to be a tourism ambassador for the Kingdom. Based on reports, Lionel Messi wasn't so keen on moving his family to the Middle East. Ronaldo has already voiced that it's been difficult living in Saudi because of the strict policies, especially for women and how they're allowed to dress. It's a no-BS country.
But, why Inter Miami? Well, Beckham is undoubtedly a reason. Messi played against the Englishman many times back in the day during his time with Manchester United and Real Madrid. There's great respect between the two. Plus, Beckham was the first star from Europe to take his talents across the pond to the MLS and we saw what that did for the Los Angeles Galaxy. More stars followed suit once he was done.
For most people outside of the United States, the dream is to live in say, Miami, Los Angeles, or New York, for example. Messi already has a place in South Beach and has spent time there in the offseason. He's also accomplished all there is to accomplish for both club and country, winning multiple domestic titles and finally lifting the World Cup with Argentina in December. Now he can chase an MLS Cup. Although that might not sound so appealing, the forward can honestly just enjoy life and still be better than everyone else in the league. No drama as he dealt with at PSG. No chance you're going to hear any fans boo the legend. They're just happy he's in the MLS.
The Saudi offer was undoubtedly appealing, but how much more money does he really need? This move gives the 35-year-old the chance to make a real difference in growing the MLS game and bringing popularity to football in America. And, he has the opportunity to take the club from the gutter of the East to the top, with time. That of course means Beckham needs to lure in more stars, but with others knowing Messi is now donning the pink shirt, it's only going to entice top talent to join him.
It's a monumental day for Major League Soccer and the beginning of a new journey for Lionel Messi.
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