Buenos Aires Herald 
Messi’s future is decided: the Argentine legend will sign with Inter Miami. The football superstar announced his decision in an interview with sports media MundoDeportivo and Sport on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Argentine time.
“I’ve made the decision that I’m going to Miami,” Messi told his interviewers. “It’s not a 100% done deal. I’m missing a few things, but we’ve decided to continue that path.”
The former Paris Saint-Germain player will discard a lucrative contract in Saudi Arabia and become the latest addition to the US Major League Soccer as a free agent, according to the BBC.
Messi had also been linked to a possible return to FC Barcelona, but the Spanish team has had its hands tied because of the local league’s financial fair play rules, which prevent teams from spending more than 5 million euros over what they earn over each 3-year evaluation period.
“To be honest, I obviously really wanted to, was really excited about being able to go back [to Barcelona], but on the other hand, after experiencing what I experienced and the exit I had, I didn’t want to end up in the same situation again: waiting to see what was going to happen and leaving my future in someone else’s hands, if you like,” he said. “I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about me, about my family.”
If the agreement does go through, the 35-year-old captain of the Argentine squad will play outside of Europe for the first time ever since he entered the Barça football school at the age of 13 to later become the team’s top scorer with 672 goals.
If the agreement does go through, the 35-year-old captain of the Argentine squad will play outside of Europe for the first time ever since he entered the Barça football school at the age of 13 to later become the team’s top scorer with 672 goals.
Four minutes before the interview was published, Inter Miami Managing Owner Jorge Mas tweeted a cryptic image of a football jersey with 10 – Messi’s number – on the back and the letters “ssí” barely visible in the shadows.
Then, shortly after the decision was announced, Inter Miami tweeted a video compilation of headlines fervently speculating about the star’s destination, followed by “M ssí” – the accent a hint at the football star’s affirmative.
Messi had also been linked to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal after allegedly receiving a formal offer of nearly half a billion euros.
A Messi history with PSG
At Barcelona, Messi has several records to his name at the club he did not want to leave, but had no choice in 2021 as the club failed to make it financially feasible to retain his services. He told MundoDeportivo that he had heard the club might need to sell players or reduce salaries to bring him back.
“I didn’t want to go through that, or take responsibility for anything that had to do with all that,” he said. “I’ve already been accused of a lot of things that weren’t true in my Barcelona career and I was kind of tired of that already.”
In a statement published on Wednesday afternoon, Barcelona FC said that Lionel’s father, Jorge Messi, had told them on Monday that his son had chosen to go to Inter Miami “despite having a proposal presented by Barça based on the will expressed by both FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi to wear the azulgrana again.”
“[Club President Joan] Laporta understood and respected the decision made by Messi of wanting to compete in a less demanding championship, more distanced from the focus of pressure to which he has been subjected in the past few years.”
The club added that Messi “has been, is, and will always be loved by Barça”.
His move away from PSG, however, is of his own volition. The highs after winning Argentina’s first World Cup in 36 years were quickly offset by the lows he experienced in Paris — for the first time in his illustrious career, his club’s fans turned against him amid PSG’s troubling form and controversy over a trip to Saudia Arabia.
He said in the interview that what tipped the balance on his Miami decision was the mental peace of being able to make his own decisions. “As I said, after having achieved everything, thanks be to God, and after getting the World Cup that I wanted so much, I wanted to look for something different too, and a little tranquility.”
Miami’s Inter is co-owned by England’s former captain David Beckham, one of the first European soccer stars to move to the US to play in the MLS, and won the tournament twice playing for Los Ángeles Galaxy.
*With information by Reuters
