“He loves football” - Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov salutes Lionel Messi for snubbing Saudi Pro League move
Former Barcelona striker Hristo Stoichkov has hailed Lionel Messi for not moving to the Saudi Pro League.
Last summer, the 36-year-old left PSG as a free agent. Despite interest from the SPL and a few other teams, including his former club, Barcelona, Messi decided to embark on a new chapter in the MLS with Inter Miami.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner spurned a lucrative £1.5 million deal over two years from Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal. However, Messi chose to move to South Florida instead of the Kingdom.
He explained the decision to choose the Herons due to family reasons (as per Mundo Deportivo and Sport via SPORT BIBLE):
"I made the decision that I'm going to go to Miami. I still haven't closed it 100%. I'm still missing a few things, but we decided to go ahead. If Barcelona didn't work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family."
Barca legend Stoichkov commended Messi for his love of football and not getting lured by a fat pay cheque (as per SPORT BIBLE):
"The agents take care of the other things. Messi comes to compete and play, and he doesn't care about money because he loves football."
The Argentinian has 11 goals and five assists in 14 competitive games for the Herons and is now in pre-season.
What's next for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami?
Inter Miami attacker Lionel Messi is currently in pre-season with the MLS side. Following a goalless away draw with El Salvador in a hybrid friendly, the Herons lost 1-0 to FC Dallas, earlier this month..
Tata Martino's side next take on Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal in Riyadh on Monday (January 29) in the Riyadh Season Cup, a three-team friendly tournament. The third side is Al-Nassr, who are second in the Saudi league, seven points behind Al-Hilal (53) after 19 games.
Messi and Co. take on Al-Nassr on February 1 before flying out to Hong Kong to face the Hong Kong Team, an assortment of the region's best first-division stars, three days later.
On February 7, they play Vissel Kobe in Tokyo before winding their pre-season with a friendly against Messi's boyhood club Newell's Old Boys eight days later in Miami.