Author|Yan Qiang
He wants to control his own destiny, which is the fundamental reason why Messi chose Inter Miami and Major League Soccer.
He has long been tired of Barça's political propaganda and public opinion shows, and perhaps from the day he was forced to leave two years ago, he knew that Barça, once home, had become a home he could never go back to.
Paris, Barcelona, Saudi Arabia and the United States, as well as "another European club" mentioned in Messi's self-proclaimed future, are among the options surrounding the World Cup-winning captain over the past few months, which have been eliminated one by one.
Even though he is "very eager" to return to Camp Nou, Barca's various "uncertainties" make him unable to grasp his future. This conviction eventually became a breach of trust, and caused him the deepest harm. Therefore, even if the contract with Miami is not 100% certain, Messi must make a public announcement, "If Barcelona's opportunity does not come true, what I want is to leave Europe, leave the spotlight, and consider replacing my family." I was really eager to go back to Barca, I was even very excited, but after the departure I had, I didn't want to go through that wait again. ”
In this joint media interview, Messi admitted that he knew that Barca were under financial pressure and had to sell players or reduce players' salaries to welcome him back, which was obviously not what he wanted. The experience of taking on some additional responsibilities in order to return to Barça is too complicated.
The Miami Heat home today unfurled a sign welcoming Messi
Communication between Messi and Internacional Miami has begun in the fall of 2022, and Maas, one of the club's co-shareholders, has been in contact with Messi's father. In September 2022, the Argentine national team, which was preparing for the World Cup, trained at its base in Miami International. David Beckham, Miami International's most famous co-shareholder, has been deeply involved in this "Macy's project".
Miami is another "home" of Messi, which is probably a favorite foreign city for Argentines. Before the 2018 World Cup, when Crespo filmed a feature documentary, the former Argentine star center said to me personally: "Messi and Aguero are most likely to go to the United States at the end of their careers, they have excellent places to live in Miami, and the feeling of living in Miami is very similar to being in Argentina." "Interestingly, just after leaving Manchester in 2021, Aguero also said that he and Messi would end their playing careers in the United States.
Messi had long since purchased a well-qualified residence in Miami and had previously rented it out. Now joining International Miami is the beginning of the family's settlement.
This Florida city has a Spanish-speaking population of more than 70%, and since 1970, the proportion of Spanish-speaking people has been increasing, and in the field of cultural tourism and other industries, Miami is almost a "Latin cultural capital" outside of a Latin country. While enjoying a quality of life comparable to Europe, without the strangeness of leaving home, and deep cultural charm, Miami has enough reasons to lock up Messi.
Miami also has a huge attraction: the 2026 World Cup in Mexico. In Qatar, Messi not only did not have the idea of retiring quickly, but became more enthusiastic about continuing his playing career. It's just that in the pure star system of Paris, he can't find the feeling of playing football in the past. Messi's player career planning, the last game must be the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup, related preparations, there is no more suitable comprehensive environment than Miami, where the cultural environment is like Argentina, living conditions and children's education environment are better than those of Argentina.
Saudi Arabia is also very attractive. Saudi Arabia, which invests in sports on an unprecedented sovereign fund scale, obviously wants to use a higher level of investment than Qatar to make the Saudi flag fly on the world sports map. Saudi Arabia's salary promise to Messi is higher than Ronaldo's income at this time, and the report of "more than 400 million euros in annual salary" is not groundless, but Messi is indeed more considerate of his family. In the interview, he talked about the abnormal experience of "staying in a hotel and the children going to international schools" in Paris. Miami's salary and compensation, supported by business giants such as Apple and Adidas, is also the highest point in MLS history, and the structure of the American league and the management of the club Miami International are also more in line with Messi's demands.
The club sacked coach Phil Neville a week ago, and the next one is likely to be Martino, who worked with Messi at Barca, and Internacional Miami will certainly recruit more Argentine internationals and Argentine football management talents to match Messi.
Martino was the head coach of the Argentina national team.
For American professional sports, this is also a successful counterattack to Middle East energy - the Saudi-led LIV professional golf has just announced its merger with the PGA, which is actually a victory for Saudi energy sports resources to enter the mainstream market. Greeting Messi, American sports proved their comprehensive strength, professional sports is not exactly money talking. As Messi himself said in an interview: "If it's just for the money, I might go to Saudi Arabia or somewhere else." ”
He is tired of being exploited, deceived by the game mode. Messi has always been that simple and simple football genius, he always looked for it, but he was at ease with it.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article only represent the author's own views and do not represent Lazy Bear Sports.