Lionel Messi to Miami! Argentine superstar, club confirm he’s coming to MLS
Lionel Messi to will play in Canada at least twice per season — at Toronto FC and at Montreal Impact
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Lionel Messi is saying BAH to a billion bucks from the Saudis and instead is coming to North America to continue his soccer career.
In Miami.
Both Messi and Inter Miami CF confirmed on Wednesday afternoon reports from earlier in the day saying the diminutive, legendary Argentine has agreed to cross the ocean and play for Inter Miami of Major League Soccer (MLS).
That is, in North America’s premier men’s pro soccer circuit. This, after Messi spent the first 20 years of his dazzling pro soccer career in Europe.
Last week, reports said Messi had hoped to sign with Inter Miami but immediately be loaned to Barcelona FC, his long-time European club home before 2021. Logistical and financial obstacles apparently rendered that impossible.
Said Messi in confirming his Miami move on Wednesday: “After winning the World Cup (with Argentina in December) and not being able to return to Barcelona, it was my turn to go to the league of the United States to live football in another way.”
Inter Miami released a short video on social media lampooning reports Messi would land elsewhere, before ending with the club’s “M” logo followed by the letters “ssi.”
Reports say it’s a four-year deal, which would all but assure that Messi will finish his career in South Florida.
It also means Messi — who turns 36 on June 24 — ostensibly will come up to play in Canada at least twice a year. But not starting until 2024.
Still, how awesome is that?
When Inter Miami plays at MLS Eastern Conference rivals Toronto FC and CF Montreal — and, additionally, in seasons where the Vancouver Whitecaps are one of Miami’s four crossover, non-conference road opponents — those respective, once-a-year matches north of the border are sure to be among the hottest sporting tickets in Canada in 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027, presuming Messi plays out his contract and is uninjured for those games.
Messi, who is widely regarded as the most skilled and accomplished soccer player ever, spent the first 18 years of his pro career with Barcelona in Spain’s La Liga, before spending the past two (mostly disappointing) seasons with Paris St-Germain (PSG) in France’s Ligue 1.
He technically remains the property of PSG until the end of June, but that club already has confirmed it won’t re-sign Messi, so he’s free to arrange a new contract with any club in the world.
Last month, headline-stealing reports said Messi likely would accept a ridiculously lucrative offer from the Al-Hilal club of the Saudi Arabia pro league, for remuneration in excess of $1 billion.
Apparently not.
News Wednesday of his blockbuster transfer to Miami confirms that money isn’t everything to Messi. And why not? He already has banked more than $1 billion US, between club contracts and off-the-pitch endorsements.
A report at global-sports website AS.com said Messi and his family are likely to vacation together over the first three weeks of July or so.
Thus, the earliest he likely could make his Inter Miami debut would be Friday, July 21 — against Cruz Azul of Mexico, in Miami, in the club’s first game in the Leagues Cup, a short mid-summer tournament pitting MLS clubs against counterparts in Mexico’s top pro league, Liga MX.
Messi’s earliest MLS debut, the AS.com report said, could come Aug. 21, following the league’s mid-season break, in Miami against Charlotte FC.
Inter Miami does play Toronto FC again this season, on Sept. 20 — but at Miami. Inter Miami plays neither Montreal nor Vancouver again this season.
All MLS teams play a 34-game regular season from February through late October, with half of them (17) away — in particular, 13 against its other conference foes, as part of the annual home-and-homes, and four more road games against select non-conference clubs, as each MLS team plays eight one-off non-conference opponents per season.
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