“We are happy with the decision” – Lionel Messi makes interesting claim after choosing Inter Miami over Barcelona
Former Barcelona star Lionel Messi has claimed that he is very happy with the decision to join Inter Miami. He wants to keep performing at the highest level in the MLS and has vowed not to change his mentality.
Messi moved to MLS this summer after parting ways with Paris Saint-Germain and has just arrived in the United States. He will be unveiled as the new Inter Miami player on July 16, the day MLS's mid-season break begins.
Speaking on the Argentine TV show Llave to Eternity, Messi claimed that he is ready for the new challenge. He is looking forward to giving it his best in the MLS. He said via Mundo Deportivo:
"Well, we are happy with the decision we made. [I am] Prepared and eager to face the new challenge, the new change, my mentality and my head will not change and I will try where I have to be now to give the maximum for myself and for my new club and try to perform at the highest level."
Lionel Messi's first match for his new club is expected to be on July 21 against Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup clash.
Barcelona confirm talks with Lionel Messi before Inter Miami move
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed that the club wanted to bring Lionel Messi back to the club this summer. However, they wanted him to wait for a little bit and give them time to sort out their finances before presenting a contract.
Laporta told Mundo Deportivo:
"There were possibilities, we had agreed that it would be like that. The player wanted to, the father too, but the rhythms are different. We didn't want what happened the other time to happen to us and we told them that when we had fair-play we would let them know."
The move to Inter Miami came as a surprise to them as Messi's father Jorge Messi turned up at the Barcelona office and informed the Argentine's decision. Laporta explained:
"Then a while passed, the entire contract was agreed but Jorge wanted to come talk to me and told us that he had decided on Inter Miami because he had spent some very hard seasons in Paris, where he was under great pressure, that in Miami he would be calmer and I could think about the national team and despite having wanted to come to Barça, I didn't want to spend another year like that."
Marca have reported that Al Hilal tabled a world-record offer to Lionel Messi earlier this year. However, he rejected the €500 million per season deal to move to the United States.