In what could be the biggest news in the history of Major League Soccer, Lionel Messi has reportedly picked Inter Miami over Saudi mega-club Al Ittihad or Barcelona.
Lionel Messi picks Inter Miami over Saudi Arabia
MAMMOTH news for MLS.
Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Details are yet to be released on Messi’s contract with Miami, though it’s safe to say it will be the largest in the history of MLS. It’s not uncommon to see aging European players make a move to the United States in their twilight, however this is the first time a player as highly-coveted as Messi, who still had significant interest from major clubs has chosen to head stateside over any alternative option. The most recent major MLS signing of this nature was Zlatan Ibrahimovich, who left Manchester United in 2018 for a two year stint with the L.A. Galaxy, before closing out his career with A.C. Milan.
Still, Messi is a much bigger global name than Ibrahimovich, and the hype when this deal goes through will be unimaginable. Naturally the hope for MLS will be that Messi’s arrival will cause more players to consider jumping to the U.S., strengthening the league as a whole — but whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen.
Either way, this is a shockwave deal that is reverberating throughout international soccer and the biggest news MLS has had, perhaps ever.
We will have more details on Messi’s contract and the terms of this deal as they become available.
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