Lionel Messi is not keeping it cool with his former club PSG as he opens up on his exciting new journey with Inter Miami in the MLS in his first press conference as Inter Miami player.
Messi shocked football fans and pundits across the world when he completed a shock switch to Inter Miami in MLS.
It was a groundbreaking transfer swoop that sent shock waves across the nooks and crannies of the football world just like his rival Cristiano Ronaldo’s switch to Al Nassr last summer.
Lionel Messi turned down two other alternative options to seal a deal with David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
A return to Camp Nou was on the table with Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, and Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez, earnestly pressing the button to sign the Argentine playmaker back.
A move to the oil-rich state of Saudi Arabia was also on the table with Al Hilal submitting a record contract offer to sign the former PSG forward.
Inter Miami were the less likely destination for Lionel Messi on the triangle of clubs interested in signing Lionel Messi but as it turned out, Leo chose to pit tent with the Florida-based MLS franchise.
Messi confirmed his decision to join Inter Miami was a matter of choice not sanctioned by financial rewards as he would have moved to Saudi Arabia if that was the case.
He neither wanted a return to Barcelona as the club seems to be grappling with the same financial quagmire that led to his exit to PSG in 2021.
In his first press conference as Inter Miami player, Lionel Messi has further beamed the searchlight on his road to Inter Miami since his exit from Barcelona.
The 2022 World Cup legend seemed to aim a dig at PSG, saying he did not want to join the French club but did so due to the financial crisis that rocked Barcelona in 2021.
He admitted he found it difficult at PSG before the World Cup triumph but happy he has now found a new home in Florida with Inter Miami.
‘I didn’t want to leave [Barcelona] for PSG and that was [an] overnight [decision]. I wanted to stay in Barcelona, but I had to get used to a different place, a different place from the one I had lived in terms of the city.
‘It was difficult in Paris, but it is quite the opposite what is going on with me here and now.’
Lionel Messi had a difficult start to life at PSG, hitting the lowest points of his career in his debut season.
He scored 6 French Ligue 1 goals with 14 assists in 26 games in his first season and breath more life to his Ligue 1 career in the second season, scoring 16 goals and 16 assists in 32 appearances.
However, after the 2022 World Cup triumph, Messi and PSG relationship was strained. PSG fans were also growing impatient with his performance after the club crashed out of the Champions League last term.
They booed him on several occasions, asking him to leave the club.
On his last days at PSG, Messi fell out with PSG and was suspended from the squad after he skipped training and traveled to Saudi Arabia to honor his ambassadorial deal with the oil-rich state.
Messi apologized and was reinstated to the squad but it was evident both parties were yet to thrash out their differences.
Messi left PSG on a sour note and unfollowed them on social media, forcing the French club to loss millions of followers in a matter of hours.
After his PSG exit, the Barcelona legend is seemingly relishing every moment with his new club, Inter Miami.
Speaking during the press conference on his experience with Inter Miami in the MLS, Messi revealed he is happy to have made the decision to join Inter Miami and it was a carefully thought out decision not a hastened decision as his 2021 move to PSG.
“I am excited there will be another game to continue that happiness. I am very happy now, I said that from the very beginning.
”I chose coming here to this city, it was a decision that we made with time. We didn’t make this decision overnight, and that’s why everything is much easier. We are in the place we want to be and it was our decision, that’s why everything is much easier.” [Source: Messi’s full press conference interview video]
Messi has maintained his perfect start to life at Inter Miami. He scored on his debut and has went on to score in his first six matches for the club, reversing the club’s 13-matches winless run with six straight wins.
He has racked up 9 goals in his six appearances for the club and has captained the team to their first Leagues Cup final.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will be hoping to lead Inter Miami to their first silverware when they take on Nashville in Leagues Cup final on Saturday, 19 August 2023.
