Lionel Messi’s MLS debut date set with axed PSG star preparing for new life

Lionel Messi cherishes ‘special honour’ after winning Laureus award in Paris

Lionel Messi could soon be playing for Inter Miami, according to reports. The David Beckham-owned team and Major League Soccer are said to be finalising details around the potential acquisition of the Argentine legend.

According to The Athletic, multiple sources who have been briefed on the negotiations have said that there is a growing hope that the Miami outfit could bring the former Barcelona legend to the US as early as this summer.

Hopes of striking a deal to lure one of the game’s all-time greats to the MLS are aided by the fact that Messi already owns a property in Florida.

The report states that the same sources have warned however that confidence in the deal has fluctuated ‘week to week’ and even ‘day to day’. All of the sources were granted anonymity because they are not authorised to discuss ongoing negotiations. Messi is a free agent after it was confirmed that the Paris Saint-Germain star has chosen not to renew his expiring contract.

One source has claimed that the decision over his future is now a straight choice between Inter Miami and a return to Barcelona, with a mega-money move to Saudi Arabia ‘not under consideration’.

Such is the confidence of the high-level source, they have even named a potential debut MLS match for Messi, should he sign. Inter Miami will face Mexican side Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on July 21 at Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium and there is every chance the Argentine could be involved.

Various reports about Messi’s soon-to-be-confirmed decision on his future have emerged from Europe, South American and Asia across the past week, but momentum appears to be swinging in the MLS club’s favour.

One MLS stakeholder told The Athletic: “The league has gotten very creative with all of this. Everything is on the table.”

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Messi has spent the majority of his career achieving unparalleled success with Barcelona but with the club in serious financial difficulties, he was forced to leave the Nou Camp in 2021 and signed for French side PSG.

With his Ligue 1 contract about to expire, hopes had been high in Catalonia that their favourite son could make an emotional return to Barca, but the club’s ongoing financial struggles appear to be scuppering any realistic hopes of a deal.

Resigning the Argentina captain is considered to be a complex operation that would involve a number of existing players leaving the squad, something that manager Xavi is seemingly unwilling a facilitate.

A separate report from Diario AS in Spain claims that Messi has also received two undisclosed offers from ‘leading clubs in Europe’ with suggestions that one could be from the Premier League.

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