Lionel Messi has decided to make a stunning move to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami CF following his departure from Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine superstar announced Wednesday.
Messi made the announcement about his next club in an interview with Spanish publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
Speculations had surrounded the 2022 World Cup winner with a return to former club Barcelona as well as a possible move to Saudi Arabia club Al Hilal but ultimately decided to join co-owner David Beckham’s Miami in MLS.
The seven times Ballon d’Or winner said, “I have made the decision that I am going to Miami. I still don’t have it agreed upon 100% and a few things are needed, but well, we decided to continue my path there,”
“After winning the World Cup 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 and to enjoy the day-to-day more. Obviously, with the same responsibility and desire to play well and do things well as always. But in a calmer way.”
“Money has never been an issue with me. We didn’t even discuss the contract with Barcelona! They sent me a proposal but was never an official, written and signed proposal.
“We never negotiated my salary. It wasn’t about money otherwise I was going to join Saudi”.
“I’d have loved a farewell like Iniesta, Busquets, Jordi Alba, Xavi… this is why I was very happy to hear the chants with my name by Barça fans at Camp Nou”.
“It was a strange feeling to hear Barça fans calling my name but then… I wasn’t there”.
“Hearing the Camp Nou chant my name at the 10th minute was very beautiful and I really enjoyed it”
“I heard that they had to sell players or lower the salary of players and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that. I was already accused of many things that were not true in my career at Barcelona and I was already a little tired, I didn’t want to go through all that again.”
“I heard reports of La Liga giving the green light but the truth is that many, really many things were still missing in order to make my return to Barça happen”,
“I didn’t want to be responsible for them to sell players or reduce salaries. I was tired”.
“I really wanted to return to Barça, I had that dream. But after what happened two years ago, I did not want to be in the same situation again, leaving my future in the hands of someone else…”
“I wanted to take my own decision, thinking of me and my family”.
“I’ve been supporting Barça during the year, I’m a fan. I spoke to Xavi a lot, we discussed and we always had frequent exchanges”
“If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me”
“The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money”.
