I might be fooled by the internet, but it looks like he's doing it. Compensation includes a pile of Apple and Adidas stock.
Messi to Inner Miamuh
- Thread starter aTotal360
- Start date
Unofficially official.
Also, the Copa America will be in the US next year.
Also, the Copa America will be in the US next year.
Looks like its borderline official official.
www.espn.com
Messi to join MLS' Inter Miami after PSG exit
Lionel Messi will make a stunning move to MLS side Inter Miami after his departure from Paris Saint-Germain, the World Cup winner with Argentina announced Wednesday.
www.espn.com
Yep, your career is done when you show up over here after a long successful stint in the big leagues.
Honest question: is Messi more washed up than Beckham was when he went to LA? Beckham, who not for nothing is the president and co-owner of Inter Miami, was 32 when he came over here. Messi is 35.
Reportedly turned down 1.3 billion for 3 years playing for a Saudi team. They have stupid money. We need to recruit a Saudi Royal to state and get that NIL bumping.
I haven't really watched him play for a couple of years, but 35 at his position is really getting on up there. As for Beckham, he was never as good as his rep was even before he was washed up. He was a great crosser of the ball and free kicker, he wasn't that great at the rest.
Messi is not even close to "washed." He played 53 games for PSG/Argentina in the 2022/23 season scoring 37 goals and adding 25 assists. PSG wanted to re-sign him, Barcelona wanted him back, and the Saudis offered him over a billion dollars. He even mentioned in an interview yesterday that he had multiple European offers that he didn't even look at because if he didn't go back to Barca, he wanted to leave Europe.
Copa America is going to be in the US in 2024 and I'm sure Messi will play in that for Argentina. The World Cup is also in the US in 2026, and I could see him sticking around for one more round even if he isn't an every game starter for Argentina by then. A 3.5 year contract with Miami to ride off into the sunset after the 2026 season seems reasonable for a 35 year old based on how he plays (not much defensive responsibility most of the time).
Messi is way more of a global superstar compared to Beckham. Beckham was famous in pop culture because of his wife, modeling, and off the field stuff. He was also a good player who was very good at something that made for good highlights (curving free kicks). Messi is on another level compared to that- he's easily a top 5 player of all time. Some consider him the goat, but it's really hard to actually compare him to guys in the past like Maradona, Pelé, and Cruyff. While he's still on the backside of his career, he's still an amazing player with a massive global fanbase.
Apple is about to make so much money on MLS Season Pass subscriptions because of how MLS sold the rights to the league. Instead of doing a bunch of deals across the world like so many other leagues do, Apple holds the exclusive rights in 100+ countries. They can sell access to Messi's games to most people in the world without the need for a cable subscription (and Messi will get a cut of this as part of his deal).
The amount of money this will generate for the league is mind-boggling. As a small example, Atlanta United opened up the third deck for our home game against Miami in September after the announcement. Those tickets are normally ~$25-40 depending on location. This time around, they start at $125 and go up to $175. From looking at the ticket map, it's about 75% sold in ~16 hours. For comparison, I have season tickets around the 15-20 yard line, and pay less than $40/game. Atlanta United is going to make at a minimum an extra $3 million in ticket sales on that one single game. Now do that for every game Messi plays in across the league, and the numbers add up quickly.
People inside the league have been clamoring to open up the roster rules and allow teams to spend their money how they want to, and Messi's arrival (I think) will finally speed up that process this coming offseason.
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