Lionel Messi to Inter Miami CF

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi said Wednesday he’s going to join the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.

After months of rumors, the seemingly impossible is now real — learn how Inter Miami, MLS, Apple, and Adidas brought the GOAT stateside and changed the sport in the US forever.

“I made the decision that I am going to Miami. I still haven’t closed it one hundred percent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue my journey there,” the seven-time world player of the year said in an interview posted by Spanish outlets SPORT and Mundo Deportivo.

The blockbuster announcement comes months after Messi was awarded the Golden Ball at the World Cup – the prize given to the best player in the tournament – and catapulted his country to World Cup glory in December. It also followed rumors of a lucrative deal in the Middle East and reports of a move back to his beloved Barcelona.

Instead, Messi has chosen the path of other superstar players who moved to the MLS.

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Though we don’t have hard dollar figures at this time, there are a few fascinating details within this titanic Messi Inter Miami deal as reported by The Athletic regarding the big MLS pitch to lure the player to play outside of Europe for the first time in his storied career. Those include the league and Apple offering the player a share of revenues generated by new subscriptions to the MLS Season Pass service on Apple TV, which is in the first year of a 10-year, $2.5 billion global media rights deal. On Tuesday, Apple announced a four-part documentary series on Messi’s five World Cup appearances for Argentina, including the 2022 championship, would stream on Apple TV.

Similarly to MLS and Apple, league jersey and footwear sponsor Adidas would also reportedly share MLS-related profits with Messi as part of the league’s pitch to bring him to the US; Messi has held a lifetime deal with the Three Stripes since 2017.