Following a surprise move to Inter Miami, Lionel Messi has explained his reason why he chose Major League Soccer (MLS) side over Spanish giants Barcelona.
Messi was linked with a fairytale return to Barcelona after parting ways with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent recently.
In a statement, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner said on Wednesday that he will be joining David Beckham’s Miami next season, as things did not work out with Barca.
“I made the decision that I’m going to go to Miami. I still haven’t closed it one-hundred percent. I’m missing some things, but we decided to continue [on] this path,” Messi said.
“If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight, and think more for my family.
“I had offers from other European teams, but I didn’t even evaluate them because my idea was to go to Barcelona and, if that didn’t come about, then leaving European football after winning the World Cup was what I needed.
“Now I will close my career in this country and experience the MLS in a different way, enjoying the day-to-day much more – but with the same responsibility of wanting to win and always doing things well, but with more peace of mind.”
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) June 7, 2023
The 35-year-old Argentine expressed his disappointment, saying he does not want a repeat of what happened previously, when he was indirectly forced out of the club.
“I really wanted. I was very excited to be able to return [to Barcelona], but after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again,” he said.
“I heard that they had to sell players or lower players’ salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, nor take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that.
“La Liga had given the okay, but it is not true that the decision was mine over a return, because many things were missing. It’s a long summer in which I do not want to go through what I already went through again.”
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