Lionel Messi left the MLS after two years with the team that beat Neville: Why the club didn’t let him go

The seven-time Ballons d’Or winner makes his move after two years with Paris Saint-Germain. Messi is no longer in the game and he filled a box on his resume back in December when he led Argentina to the World Cup title.

It was widely thought that Lionel Messi would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, which is now funded by the state’s wealth fund. Another possibility was to return to Barcelona, the franchise he spent most of his career with.

But in the end, he made a decision that shocked many. Messi is a player in the MLS. He said that he has made a decision to stay in Miami, but that there are still some final details to be worked out.

Barcelona’s financial turmoil forced his hand. “I heard they had to sell players or lower salaries, and the truth is that I did not want to go through that,” he said, suggesting that he did not want to be held responsible for forcing Barcelona to adjust its squad simply to accommodate him.

And now he comes to MLS, and a team that is struggling — last place in the Eastern Conference, just a few days removed from the firing of coach Phil Neville (who was hand-picked by Beckham two years ago).

A photo of a dark silhouetted Messi jersey after his world cup final victory against Argentina on the international stage – the case of Inter Miami

Messi has more than 800 goals in his career, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport’s history. In more than 17 years of representing Argentina on the international stage, he has scored 102 goals against 38 different national team opponents. He scored twice in last year’s World Cup final against France and Argentina won the game in penalty kicks.

That likely will soon change. One of Inter Miami’s owners, Jorge Mas, tweeted out a photo of a darkly silhouetted Messi jersey shortly before the Argentinian great revealed his decision in interviews with Spanish news outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport.