Lionel Messi is officially joining Inter Miami CF this summer, but it is worth noting that this news was first reported back in late November. Messi’s people shot that narrative down as fake news. Maybe it was actually true back then, because it is indeed happening now, and Team Messi was just upset because they wanted to announce it first? Or maybe back at that stage it was just talk, and no deal had been struck yet.
Who cares, because it is on now!
When it comes to Lionel Messi, it is hard to think of him as a player for any team otherย than Argentina or FC Barcelona. Manchester City tried numerous times to sign him, but could never convert any of their chances. Paris Saint-Germain eventually did nab him, in the summer of 2021, but his time in the French capital has ended.ย
Messi is now moving to MLS.
It won’t be the Major League Soccer club with the same corporate parents as Man City, New York City FC. According to The Times of London, back in November, the destination is Inter Miami CF, David Beckham’s club.
Messi is moving over to a club that is only in its fourth year of existence. The Times report says that Messi will become the highest paid player in MLS history.
Of course, this narrative isn’t anything new, as we reported on the potentiality of Messi to Inter Miami back in the summer of 2021.
Back on November 2, on a media Zoom call, Chicago Fire and Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri was asked about the potential impact Messi could have on MLS.
You can see now the MLS is growing more and more,” the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich star said.
“And more good players coming from Europe to the MLS. And the league is getting better with these kind of players.”
Lionel Messi coming across the pond would reinforce the tired and now very outdated “MLS as a retirement league” narrative. While this move would fit that motif, overall, it’s a fallacy, as Shaq pointed out.
“The teams are investing in younger players now,” Shaqiri continued.
“It’s not like before, okay, at 35, 36, the old players coming now and to make holidays in America. Now it’s changed so the good players are coming now, and they are coming in their prime and trying to achieve something there, too.
This is a good step also for the league and for the country, and yeah, I’m really looking forward to more and more players coming to the league and to make teams better, the league better. It’s also more interesting and [more] competition for everybody.
And with this World Cup being the last for both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Shaqiri was asked by a reporter to weigh in on The GOAT debate.
.
“This is always a good question for everybody,” Shaq said about the timeless question of ‘Messi versus Ronaldo?’
“I think these two guys, what they did for football in the last 20 years is unbelievable. I don’t know if somebody is going to come again like these two. This is something extraordinary that you maybe never see.
“For me they are both very good and the best with of course Maradona and Pelรฉ, I think the same level like them.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including theย New York Daily News,ย Sports Illustratedย and theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears onย NTD Newsย andย WGN News Now.ย Follow the websiteย onย Twitterย andย Instagram.
