Lionel Messi

Argentina legend ready to change the face of football in the United States after completing move from PSG to MLS side Inter Miami

- James Nalton

Two years ago, reports in the Barcelona newspaper Sport revealed Lionel Messi was planning a move to Inter Miami and Major League Soccer in 2023. It was part of a mapping out of the end of a playing career that would include remaining at the Camp Nou for two more seasons, before moving to MLS and then becoming a Barca club ambassador on retiring. When Messi shocked the football world by instead leaving Barcelona and moving to Paris Saint-Germain, it appeared the whole plan was up in the air.

Messi had congratulated Inter Miami owner David Beckham on the founding of the club in 2018, commenting: “I wanted to wish you all the best in this new project and in this new role for you. And who knows, maybe in a few years you can give me a ring.”

It turned out to be more than just a throwaway comment and, despite that diversion to Paris, Messi’s Miami plan evidently remained. Arguably the greatest player of all time, the highest-profile sportsman on the planet, who steered his team to a World Cup win just last year, will play in MLS.

How could MLS attract someone like Messi? The conditions and the location would have to be near-perfect to trump the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia and the emotional pull of Barcelona.

In the end, as was the case when Messi left for Paris, Barcelona simply couldn’t guarantee that he could be registered in the squad due to La Liga’s financial restrictions. Meanwhile, with MLS’s Designated Player rule that allows each team up to three players whose wage exceeds the salary cap, there was no limit, in theory, on the salary that Miami were able to offer.