MIAMI (CelebrityAccess) — Lionel Messi, the most sought-after free agent in modern professional soccer announced plans to sign a contract with U.S.-based Inter Miami, the M.L.S. team partially owned by former soccer legend David Beckham.
The Argentinian soccer legend revealed his plans during an interview with Spanish sports news services Sport and Mundo Deportivo, stating, “I made the decision that I am going to go to Miami,” adding, “I still haven’t closed it 100 percent. I’m missing some things, but we decided to continue the path.”
The deal is a surprising turn of events for Messi, who spent much of his career at the high-profile FC Barcelona but recently completed a two-year stint at France’s most successful club, Paris Saint-Germain.
According to the New York Times, Messi passed on an invitation to rejoin his former team in Barcelona, as well as a deal to move to Saudi Arabia that was worth as much as $500 million.
In his interview, Messi made it clear that Miami was not his first choice and would have preferred a return to Spain but noted that the team’s current financial turmoil complicated the decision.
“I heard they had to sell players or lower salaries, and the truth is that I did not want to go through that,” Messi told Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
Messi went on to note that money was not the key factor in his decision, “If it had been a question of money, I would have gone to Arabia or somewhere,” he said.
“I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about myself and my family,” Messi added, noting that the chance to move his family away from Europe offered an opportunity to “find a little peace of mind.”
