On Tuesday, Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar, arrived in Florida to finalize his transfer to the US Major League Soccer club, Inter Miami. In televised footage from Argentina, Messi was seen disembarking from a private jet at a small executive airport situated near Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Lauderdale, accompanied by members of his family.
The World Cup winner is expected to put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal, reported to be worth $60 million a year, before being presented to fans at a stadium event on Sunday.
“We are happy with the decision we made. Prepared and eager to face the new challenge, the new change,” Messi said in an interview with Argentine TV show, Llave a la Eternidad, released on Tuesday.
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“My mentality and my head are not going to change and I am going to try, wherever I have to be, to give my best for myself and my new club and continue to perform at the highest level,” he added.
Messi is the biggest name to ever move to MLS and the greatest player to head to the United States since Brazilian great Pele signed for the New York Cosmos in 1975.
MLS hope that Messi will massively increase the profile of the league and boost subscriptions to their streaming broadcast deal with Apple TV. Ticket prices for games likely to involve Messi have already sky-rocketed.
Fans had begun to gather at the club’s DRV PNK stadium early in the morning ahead of his expected arrival.
One of the supporters, Julio Iglesias, 42 said he founded the ‘Messias 305’ fan group when he learned the Argentine star was coming to Miami. He didn’t previously watch MLS games but said he now won’t miss any Miami matches.
“For us, Messi coming means everything, wherever he goes there is always incredible happiness,” he said, while standing by a banner declaring ‘We are waiting for you Messias”.
The arrival of Lionel Messi at the Miami football club is set to generate significant excitement and build momentum in the sport as the world looks forward to the 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Alongside Messi, his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, a Spanish midfielder, is also expected to join the club. Additionally, Gerardo "Tata" Martino, the former coach of Argentina and Barcelona, has recently taken charge as the team's coach.
Jorge Mas, the owner of the Miami club, has indicated that Messi and Busquets could be part of a larger plan to make "three to five" new signings during the current transfer window. There have been strong rumors linking another former Barcelona player, Jordi Alba, a Spanish full-back, with a potential move to the Miami team. The club is co-owned by David Beckham, the former England and Manchester United star.
Miami currently finds itself at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS), having secured only five wins out of 21 games. Their current ranking is 28th out of the 29 teams in the league. However, with the addition of high-profile players like Messi, the club aims to turn its fortunes around.
Lionel Messi is expected to make his debut for the Miami club in the Leagues Cup match on July 21, where they will face off against Mexican club Cruz Azul.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami finds themselves in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup and has been pitted against FC Cincinnati, the current league leaders. Lionel Messi, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, spent the last two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain following his departure from Barcelona in 2021, where he had a remarkable career. During his time at Barcelona, Messi secured an impressive ten Spanish league titles, seven Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) titles, and four Champions League victories. Notably, he displayed his brilliance in the World Cup final in Doha, where he scored two goals for Argentina in a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time, eventually winning the match on penalties and lifting the trophy as captain. Messi's accomplishments also include an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in 2008 and a Copa America triumph in 2001.
