Argentinian football player Lionel Messi made an unexpected decision after numerous negotiations with Barcelona and Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia to strengthen the third club and move to the MLS league in the ranks of Inter from Miami.
After this news, the seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or announced that money was not his first priority when choosing a new club.
“I made a decision. I’m not going back to Barcelona, I’m going to Inter Miami. If it was about money, I would go to Saudi Arabia. It is clear that money was not my first priority. I’m ready for a new challenge,” Messi told Mundo Deportivo.
According to the Spanish media, there was information that the offer of the club from Saudi Arabia amounted to over one billion euros.
Due to numerous circumstances, he refused to return to Barcelona, primarily in order not to further damage the atmosphere in the former club, which is facing a financial crisis.
“I really wanted, I was very excited to be able to come back, but after experiencing everything when I left, I didn’t want to be in the same situation again: to wait to see what would happen and to leave my future behind in the hands of others. I heard they had to sell players or take a pay cut, and the truth is I didn’t want to go through that or have anything to do with it.
I made the decision to go to Miami. I still haven’t solved everything one hundred percent. I’m missing some things, details, but we decided to continue on that path. “I wanted to leave Europe, to get out of the spotlight and think more about my family,” Messi said.
This will be Messi’s first experience outside of Europe, after two years spent in Paris Saint-Germain, where he played 75 games and scored 32 goals.
Previously, he played for Barcelona for 17 seasons in which he recorded 778 appearances and scored 672 goals and 303 assists.