Argentina legend Lionel Messi will join American club Inter Miami after leaving French champions Paris St-Germain.
Messi, 35, got a more lucrative offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, but a return to Barcelona became impossible due to Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions.
“I’ve decided to go to Miami,” Messi told tabloids Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
“[I decided] to leave Europe.”
He added: “It’s true that I had offers from another European team but I didn’t even think about it because in Europe, my idea was only to go to Barcelona.
“After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it’s time to go to MLS to live football in a different way and enjoy my day-to-day life more.
“Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to win, and to do things well, but with more calm.”
The ex-Barcelona forward wanted to return to the Catalan club this summer, but the FFP restrictions that will be in effect in La Liga next season made any ambitious plan to bring him back impossible.
The Spanish club could not retain Messi in 2021, prompting an emotional press conference as he left the Nou Camp and joined PSG.
“I was afraid that it would happen again,” he said.
“I really wanted, I was very excited to be able to return [to Barcelona], but after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had.
I did not want to be in the same situation again, waiting to see what would happen.
“I heard that they had to sell players or lower players’ salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, nor take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that.”
Barcelona later issued a statement indicating Messi had chosen a move to Miami over an offer from the Catalan club.
“President Joan Laporta understood and respected Messi’s decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years,” it added.
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Messi’s first venture outside Europe
Adidas and Apple have collaborated on the Miami deal.
Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award seven times and is anticipated to win it again this year after winning the World Cup.
This is Messi’s first appearance outside of Europe.
With a return to Barcelona unlikely, he was forced to choose between Inter Miami and Al-Hilal.
He was highly rumored to want a move to Saudi Arabia, where he would have joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in the league in an unbeatable financial contract.
However, Messi was eventually enticed to join Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami for a multitude of reasons, including lifestyle and a relationship with huge brands that extend beyond football.
He already owns and rents out a home in Miami.
Paris St-Germain won Ligue 1 in both of his seasons at the club but was eliminated in the Champions League in the final 16, therefore his tenure in France was not regarded as a major success.
He scored 32 goals in 75 games for the club this season, finishing with 16 goals and 16 assists in Ligue 1.
Messi’s two-year contract expires this summer, and the two parties agreed to part ways, with the forward suspended for two weeks in May for unapproved travel to Saudi Arabia.
His legacy stems from his tenure at Barcelona and Argentina’s World Cup victory in December 2022.
He departed Barcelona in 2021, after 21 years with the club, due to financial difficulties.
Messi has 672 goals for Barcelona and has won 10 La Liga crowns, four Champions Leagues, and seven Spanish Cups.
‘If it was about money I’d have gone to Saudi’
Messi revealed he had discussed his return to Barcelona with close friend Xavi, but “very little, once or twice at most” with President Joan Laporta.
We were very excited, because when something came out we would discuss if he really wanted me to come back, if it was good for the team and for him, and we kept in communication,” Messi said.
“We never even got to talk about the contract. A proposal was passed over, but never a formal, written, signed proposal, because there was still nothing and we did not know if it was going to be possible or not.
“There was the intention, but we couldn’t advance anything, we didn’t even talk about money formally.
“If it had been a matter of money I would have gone to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere.”
Source: BBC
