Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas has confirmed that it took him three years to bring Lionel Messi to Major League Soccer. The Argentine, who won FIFA World Cup 2022, had earlier confirmed his move to Inter Miami as a free agent.
Messi played two seasons for Paris Saint-Germain after making a move from Barcelona back in 2021 due to financial crisis. In fact, Messi was also thinking about making a return to the Catalan club but decided against it as he admitted he didn’t want to go through the same trauma which he had to go through back in 2021.
Furthermore, Messi also had a lucrative offer to join Al Hilal in Saudi Pro League but decided to move to the USA.
“In 2019 [when Messi was still at Barcelona], we started thinking about how we could bring him,” Mas told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“I spent three years on it, a year-and-a-half [working] very intensely. There were many conversations with [Messi’s father and agent] Jorge. [Inter Miami co-owner] David [Beckham] talked to Leo, only about football issues, because he was a player.”
Mas revealed he had multiple meetings with Lionel Messi but he didn’t want to put any pressure on the Argentine regarding his transfer.
“I saw it as done at the end of May,” Mas said. “I didn’t want him to feel under pressure. We had spoken in Barcelona, Miami, Rosario, Doha … I spent the whole World Cup in Qatar, watching Argentina.
“The Apple contract was very important to close the deal.”
On the other hand, Barcelona’s president Jaon Laporta revealed Messi didn’t return to the club as he wanted less pressure. Messi also earlie admitted he wanted to stay away from the limelight.
“I understand it, but one thing has nothing to do with the other,” Laporta told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.
“We had an agreement with LaLiga that we would dedicate part of the resources we have to Messi. It was included in the viability plan. We communicated it to Jorge Messi. He told me that Leo had had a very difficult year in Paris and that he wanted less pressure. With our option, he would have continued to be under pressure, and I understood his decision.”
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