Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami because he now has “the opportunity to change the sport”, considers Jorge Mas, refusing “endless money” from elsewhere.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had several options to choose from when he came to the end of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and left the club as a free agent. A return to Barcelona has been mooted, while he has reportedly been offered lucrative deals in the Middle East. The Argentine has improved his image and that of football in the United States by joining a club co-owned by Manchester United and England legend David Beckham.
Jorge Mas, co-owner of Inter Miami, spoke at length about this on the Offside with Taylor Twellman podcast.
“I was there every day and had the opportunity to speak to Lionel in depth. I asked him : ” What are your aspirations? What are your dreams ? That’s it ? What do you want ? We are competing for the best player in the world with the great powers of world football and with unlimited sums of money that we cannot compete with. So I had to try to find what makes Lionel Messi tick. What can we offer that others can’t? In this country, Lionel Messi has the opportunity to change the sport. If he had stayed at PSG, he would not have changed the sport. If he had returned to Barcelona, either. And if he went to Saudi Arabia, it wouldn’t change the sport there.”
Messi had an immediate impact in the United States, scoring five goals in his first three appearances. Mas added about the 2022 world champion: “Lionel Messi is a competitive beast. What I saw, just in the small details and the examples of what he did with his teammates at the training center, is incredible. (We have high expectations, but mine, so far, in this very short period of interaction with him, I’ve been blown away.
