After the Argentine himself confirmed that he would travel to Miami and the team showed a small “sneak peak” of the incorporation, the highly publicized arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami broke the transfer market for next season and that is something that the Major League Soccer (MLS) team wants to capitalize on.
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, Jorge Mas, owner of Inter Miami, revealed that the idea of incorporating the world champion began in 2019: “Messi can turn MLS into one of the two or three biggest leagues in the world ( …) I think he wants to leave his mark, and he will be able to do it beyond football. When he retires he will have a stake in the club.”
In this sense, the businessman also revealed the high amount that Messi will earn in Miami, which will be “between $50 and $60 million (dollars) per year.”
“I was three years. A year and a half, very intensely. Many conversations with Jorge (Lionel’s father). I saw it done at the end of May. David was talking to Leo, only about football, because he was playing. He didn’t want him to feel pressured. We have spoken in Barcelona, Miami, Rosario, Doha… I spent the entire World Cup in Qatar, watching Argentina. To close it, the Apple contract was very important,” Mas said in the interview with the Spanish newspaper.
Regarding another of the star signings of the Florida team, the Spanish Sergio Busquets, the manager said that for the team “it was essential to surround Messi with players of his level. We have been talking to Busi for about a year.”
Mas, who shares ownership of Inter Miami with his brother and with former English soccer player David Beckham, also announced that there will be “two or three” more signings and acknowledged that “Jordi Alba has been spoken to.”
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