The Argentinian, whose contract has ended with PSG, has decided to join Inter Miami, even if a return to FC Barcelona has been considered.
Twenty-three years after his arrival at the FC Barcelona training center, Lionel Messi will leave Europe. The Argentinian announced his choice to join Inter Miami, in the United States, on Wednesday June 7, in an interview given to Mundo Deportivo and Sport, two Spanish media. The seven-time Ballon d’Or concedes that he was not happy during his two years at Paris Saint-Germain and that the option of a return to Barcelona was considered.
Despite a title of champion of France and a status of best passer in Ligue 1 this season, the passage of Lionel Messi in Paris ended under the whistles of the Parisian public, who have long criticized the Argentinian for his lack of involvement. . “I was hoping to end in another way, it has been two years that have been difficult for me, but they are already behind me”he says, describing the coronation at the World Cup in Qatar as a parenthesis “spectacular” which has not changed his state of mind in the capital. “It was two years in which I wasn’t happy. I didn’t enjoy it, and it affected my family life. I was missing out on a lot of things in my children’s lives at school. In Barcelona, I went to pick them up at school, in Paris a lot less, I shared a lot less activities with them”he regrets.
‘Return to Barcelona or leave European football’
His Parisian adventure having come to an end, the Argentinian made the choice to join Inter Miami, with “the same responsibility of winning titles and doing things well, but with more peace of mind”. He will therefore not join Saudi Arabia despite the rumours. “If it had been a question of money, I would have gone to Saudi Arabia”says Leo Messi, who above all wanted “to leave Europe”. “I received offers from European teams but I didn’t want to take them into account, because my idea was to return to Barcelona, and if I didn’t come back to Barcelona, then I wanted to leave European football”he adds.
Finally, despite a mutual interest between Leo Messi and his favorite club, the seven-time Ballon d’Or will therefore not wear the Blaugrana jersey. “Of course I wanted to, but on the other hand, after what I went through and the way I left, I didn’t want to go through the same situation again. […] I heard that they have to sell players or lower player salaries. I didn’t want to go through that. I have already been accused of a lot of things that were not true in my career at Barcelona and it tired me. I didn’t want to go through all that yet.” he justifies.
If his playing career will therefore continue across the Atlantic, Messi does not rule out a return to Catalonia for a possible retraining. “Obviously, I would like to stay close to the club. And even more, I will live in Barcelona. This is one of the things that we are certain of with my wife and my children. I don’t know when, but I hope I can bring something to the club and help it because it’s a club I love as I’ve always said.”he assures.