{"id":316448,"date":"2023-07-15T21:17:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-15T21:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=316448"},"modified":"2023-07-16T03:01:20","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T03:01:20","slug":"overjoyed-messis-us-move-confirmed-with-220m-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=316448","title":{"rendered":"'Overjoyed': Messi's US move confirmed with $220m deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi<\/a> has finalised his deal to join Major League Soccer<\/a>, and after years of planning and pursuing, Inter Miami has landed a global icon.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s contract became official on Saturday evening (AEST), a little more than five weeks after he declared that he would be coming to Inter Miami.<\/p>\n

The team will introduce him at its stadium in Fort Lauderdale, and the first home match of the Messi era could be as early as Saturday morning (AEST) in a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul.<\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> 'Rebuilt' Aussie Olympian's uplifting Paris quest<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Unseeded star inks name into Wimbledon folklore<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> The Ted Lasso quote giving Wallabies hope<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

A formal news conference is scheduled Monday evening (AEST), and his first training session with his new club is expected the following morning. The club previously announced that Messi's deal will be for two and a half seasons and will pay him between $73 million and $88 million annually \u2014 putting the total contract value between $183 million and $220 million in cash alone.<\/p>\n

\"Lionel<\/p>\n

"BIENVENIDO 10," the team posted on Twitter.<\/p>\n

Welcome, Messi, indeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are overjoyed that the greatest player in the world chose Inter Miami CF and Major League Soccer, and his decision is a testament to the momentum and energy behind our League and our sport in North America,\u201d MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no doubt that Lionel will show the world that MLS can be a league of choice for the best players in the game."<\/p>\n

It is, in many ways, an unusual marriage. Messi \u2014 still perhaps the biggest star in the game \u2014 is signing with a team that sits in last place in the MLS's Eastern Conference standings. It\u2019s a club in just its fourth season that plays in a temporary home that will seat only about 22,000 people when some rushed renovations to expand the seating capacity are completed.<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t matter. Football royalty now plays for Inter Miami.<\/p>\n

Messi arrived in South Florida earlier this week following a holiday, then started the process of physicals and paperwork. The deal was finalised by the weekend. The seven-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner \u2014 the trophy given annually to the world\u2019s best player \u2014 is making his Miami move after two years with Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLS\/status\/1680279910537998336<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States,\u201d Messi said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a fantastic opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project. The idea is to work together to achieve the objectives we set, and I\u2019m very eager to start helping here in my new home.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was widely known that Messi would be leaving PSG. The mystery was where he was going. Some thought Messi eventually would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, following longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo to a kingdom where some clubs now are funded by its sovereign wealth fund. Going back to Barcelona, a storied franchise where he spent most of his career, was another possibility.<\/p>\n

In the end, Miami won. An idea that co-owner David Beckham began floating publicly in 2021 \u2014 two years before, evidently, the team actually started thinking about how to pull this off \u2014 has now become reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 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,\u201d Messi said in June when announcing his decision.<\/p>\n

He led Argentina to the World Cup title last December. Messi has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport\u2019s history. He scored twice in last year\u2019s World Cup final against France, a match that ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing 4-2 on penalty kicks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He is a four-time Champions League winner and his 129 goals in the top club competition are second to Ronaldo\u2019s 140. Messi has won 10 La Liga titles and two Ligue 1 championships, seven Copa del Reys and three Club World Cups plus a Copa Am\u00e9rica and Olympic gold medal for Argentina.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago, when I started my journey to build a new team in Miami, I said that I dreamt of bringing the greatest players in the world to this amazing city," Beckham said.<\/p>\n

"Players who shared the ambition I had when I joined LA Galaxy to help grow football in the USA and to build a legacy for the next generation in this sport that we love so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday that dream came true."<\/p>\n

The club had a road match Saturday at St. Louis, yet when word got out that Messi may have been at the team\u2019s facility that morning a couple hundred fans showed up just hoping for a glimpse, not even deterred by a late-morning thunderstorm. Many wore Messi jerseys \u2014 some the light blue of Argentina, some the pink-and-black of Inter Miami. Some carried flags; one carried a sign mostly in Spanish, but the words \u201cMessi\u201d and \u201cGOAT\u201d made the messaging clear.<\/p>\n

\"Socceroos<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just part of a welcome party that is only getting started.<\/p>\n

Messi was seen at a Publix supermarket near Fort Lauderdale \u2014 the grocery chain is an Inter Miami sponsor \u2014 with his family earlier in the week, and the cart had a few items picked out by the kids: Froot Loops, Cap\u2019n Crunch, Lucky Charms. The scene went viral by the time he hit the checkout lane.<\/p>\n

A serial goal scorer is evidently a cereal fan as well.<\/p>\n

And now, it\u2019s time for the football to start. Inter Miami plans to introduce Messi at an event the club is calling \u201cThe Unveil.\u201d Shakira is rumored to be attending, and tickets are long gone for the show that has been anticipated for weeks.<\/p>\n

Hopes for the franchise are now officially sky-high. Inter Miami has never contended for a title; Messi could change everything in a hurry for a team that has won only 34 per cent of its matches in MLS play.<\/p>\n

\u201cLionel Messi is an incomparable talent,\u201d Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson said. \u201cWhat he brings on and off the field will elevate everyone around him and we\u2019re excited to have him at Inter Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi has finalised his deal to join Major League Soccer, and after years of planning and pursuing, Inter Miami has landed a global icon. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":293546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316448"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=316448"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":316453,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316448\/revisions\/316453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/293546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=316448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=316448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=316448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}