Lionel Messi Confirms Move to Inter Miami

Facts

• Argentina's World Cup hero Lionel Messi on Wednesday confirmed that he has chosen Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer (MLS) team partially owned by David Beckham, as the next branch in his career.¹
• This comes as the 35-year-old seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will become a free agent this summer when his two-year contract with the French club ends.²
• It was previously reported that Saudi club Al-Hilal had offered the Argentina soccer legend a contract worth €1.5B ($1.6B) over three years, as other soccer stars have recently joined the Saudi league, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.³
• He's now expected to make his Inter Miami debut sometime in July, with the team — having recently fired Beckham-appointed head coach Phil Neville — currently struggling in last place in the Eastern Conference.⁴
• Meanwhile, the cheapest re-sale tickets for Messi's reported first two matches with the club in July and August jumped more than 1K%.⁵
• Further, though it's still not revealed how much he will get paid at the American club, Inter Miami's Instagram followers grew from around 1M to more than 5M just 24 hours after the announcement.⁶

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²BBC News, ³MARCA, ⁴FOX News, ⁵Forbes and ⁶Business Insider.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Athletic. The MLS and Inter Miami have long dreamed about signing Messi, whose presence will likely boost league attendance, international exposure, and merchandising sales while attracting other stars. In exchange, Messi can strengthen his foothold in the American market, becoming even a greater focus for sponsorship dollars and possibly the owner of an MLS team.
• Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Though Messi can indeed kick off a new era in the MLS in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup in the US, he chose the worst option in the league. Inter Miami squad is weak, and its boardroom management is a disaster. The club had its budget deducted in the past two seasons due to league roster rules violations, and the construction of its planned $1B new venue in Miami has yet to start.