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The wait is finally over! Lionel Messi, the champion of the World, has decided to join MLS club Inter Miami. There were a lot of rumors about Messi’s next club. Saudi club Al Hilal were the most desperate to sign Lionel Messi with a record salary. Besides, FC Barcelona were also in the race. But in the end, Leo decided to join David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
Why did Messi choose Inter Miami?
After leaving Paris Saint-Germain, Messi’s priority has always been to return to FC Barcelona. He waited for their decision, while Barca were also desperate to bring back their star. But it was their financial condition that didn’t allow them to sign Lionel Messi. Barcelona needed to sell players and reduce the salary of many players sign Leo. But Messi doesn’t want to go through this. Although Jorge Messi, the father of Leo Messi, had a meeting with Barca President on Monday, the club couldn’t give an official proposal due to the FFP role. That is why it was impossible for Messi to return to FC Barcelona.
On the other hand, Saudi club Al Hilal had tried their best to sign the world champion. They offered Messi around Є1B net salary in two years, yet they failed to convince him.
In an exclusive interview with Mundo Deportivo, Messi talked about many things. Let’s jump into it.
Messi on his possible return to Barcelona
Lionel Messi has talked about his possible return to Barcelona and why couldn’t he join Barcelona. Messi said, “The truth is, I obviously really wanted to, very excited to be able to return, but, on the other hand, after having experienced what I experienced [2 years ago] and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again. I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about myself, about my family.”
“Although I heard that it was said that LaLiga had accepted everything and that everything was fine for me to return, there were still many other things that had to be done. I heard that they had to sell players or lower player salaries, and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, or take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that. I have already been accused of many things that were not true in my career at Barcelona, and I was already a bit tired, I didn’t want to go through all that,” Messi added.
Messi on Xavi’s comment
Barca boss Xavi Hernandez many times said that Messi’s return is in Messi’s hands. Messi also talked about it. He said, “I listened to a bit of everything that was said, what was coming out, what Xavi said. But it was a bit of what he was saying recently. LaLiga had given the OK, but it is not real that the decision is mine because many things are missing, and it is a long summer in which I do not want to go through what I already went through again. I preferred to make the decision earlier to end this and be calm and think about the holidays and my future, already planning what I know is going to be possible.”
Messi talked about Rumors
“I don’t know where they came from, but there were a lot of leaks and news. There were even journalists who put me everywhere. They confirmed it to me in Arabia, in Barcelona they took it for granted and the next day they changed their version. There was a lot of that going on, so I was trying to think about what I knew and felt and deal with that, not what was being said.”
My decision was not for Money – Messi
Messi said that his decision to join Inter Miami was not for money. He had better proposals. Messi said, “The truth is that economics was never a problem for me or an obstacle at all. We never even got to talk about the contract now. A proposal was passed over, but never a formal, written, signed proposal, because there was still nothing and we did not know if it was going to be possible or not. There was the intention, but we couldn’t advance anything, we didn’t even talk about money formally.”
“If it had been a matter of money I would have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me and the truth is that my decision was for the other side and not for money.”
Messi had offers from Europe
Other European clubs tried to sign Messi. But Messi doesn’t want to join other European clubs. He said, “I had offers from other European teams, but I didn’t even evaluate them because my idea was to go to Barcelona and if Barcelona didn’t work out, analyzing it, then leaving European football and much more after winning the World Cup, which was what I needed to Closing my career on this side and living the United States League in a different way and enjoying day to day much more but with the same responsibility of wanting to win and always doing things well but with more peace of mind.”
