Lionel Messi joins MLS side Inter Miami

lionel Messi

Lionel Messi on Wednesday announced he will sign for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, choosing the United States as his next destination over a Barcelona reunion or blockbuster deal to play in Saudi Arabia.

The Argentine forward, 35, has spent the last two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, playing his final game for the club on Saturday, after moving from Barcelona in 2021, where he spent the majority of his career.

Messi said that he did not want to have to wait for Barcelona to find a formula to be able to sign him given their financial situation — they were unable to keep him before his move to PSG, leading to a tearful departure.

MLS and Inter Miami confirmed the news on social media.

“I was afraid that it would happen again,” Messi told Spanish newspapers Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo.

“I’ve taken the decision that I am going to Miami, I don’t have (the deal) 100 percent sealed or maybe there’s something left to do, but we decided to continue our path there.

“(I decided) to leave Europe…

“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.”

Messi is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and is expected to earn the individual accolade once more after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December 2022.

The football world was eagerly awaiting Messi’s decision after PSG confirmed this week the playmaker, widely considered the best player in the history of football, was departing.

Inter Miami, co-owned by former England international David Beckham and founded in 2018, sacked coach Phil Neville last week