Lionel Messi officially signs with Inter Miami of MLS: 'This is a historic moment'
The deal is done.
Lionel Messi is officially a member of Inter Miami CF after signing a contract with the MLS team, the club announced Saturday. The deal runs through the 2025 MLS season and also includes stakes in Apple and Adidas, the broadcasting and apparel partners of the league.
"I'm very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States," Messi said in a statement. "This is a fantastic opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project. The idea is to work together to achieve the objectives we set, and I'm very eager to start helping here in my new home."
The announcement comes more than a month after Messi revealed that he did, indeed, decide to join David Beckham's MLS club, which currently sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, although the contract wasn't done yet. After sharing with fans that he was taking his talents to South Beach, Inter Miami ticket prices skyrocketed and the side's Instagram page added four million followers in the span of a day.
"I couldn’t be prouder that a player of Leo’s caliber is joining our club," Beckham said in a statement, "but I am also delighted to welcome a good friend, an amazing person and his beautiful family to join our Inter Miami community. The next phase of our adventure starts here, and I can’t wait to see Leo take to the pitch.”
Messi is the latest soccer superstar to try his hand — or foot — in the United States, following Beckham, Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Thierry Henry, Kaká and others.
“This is a historic moment for Inter Miami, MLS, and fútbol in the United States, both on the sporting side and in this new era of business opportunities,” said Xavier Asensi, Inter Miami CF Chief Business Officer. “Lionel is the best player of all time which has, naturally, led us to design an unprecedented agreement in the sporting world.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner built anticipation similar to LeBron James' "Decision" this spring because his contract with Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain expired on June 30. Messi was being courted by teams in Saudi Arabia, where his rival-friend Cristiano Ronaldo signed in December for a deal that reportedly included $200 million per year, and his former club, FC Barcelona. After 21 years with the Spanish side, he left in 2021 with an emotional goodbye because the front office didn't want to pony up to give him a new contract.
"Obviously, I really wanted to (return to Barcelona)," Messi said in sharing his decision to join the MLS. "I had a lot of desire to be able to return. But, on the other hand, having lived what I lived, and the exit that I had, I did not want to return to be in the same situation again."
He spent two seasons with PSG, playing alongside fellow superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. The team failed to meet expectations and did not advance past the knockout round of the Champions League tournament. Messi also had a personal hiccup in May when he was suspended and fined for traveling on a sponsored trip to Saudi Arabia without the team's consent.
Messi added a much-desired jewel to his crown when he won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, cementing him as one of the greats. He said that he has no plans to participate in the 2026 tournament, which will be held across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lionel Messi officially signs with MLS club Inter Miami CF
