Lionel Messi to Inter Miami is a landmark move in MLS history (AP Image)
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge said that Lionel Messi’s arrival in MLS will boost the league and take it to another level as it’s a landmark move in US football history.
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas opened up on the massive Lionel Messi move to the club and how it is going to change Major League Soccer. Messi is arguably the greatest player in football history and his decision to join Inter Miami and leave European football shocked many. Earlier this month, the Argentine announced that he will make a move to Inter Miami despite the desire to return to Barcelona. However, the 35-year-old has yet not signed the contract with Miami but reportedly the paperwork will be done by the end of the month.
Messi was linked with a return to Barcelona but he chose Inter Miami after his former club failed to present him an official contract. The seven-time Ballon d’Or decided not to wait further and made the same mistake which he committed a couple of years back when Barcelona failed to give him a contract extension due to FFP rules in La Liga.
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge said that Messi’s arrival in MLS will boost the league and take it to another level as it’s a landmark move in US football history.
“I think there will always be a before and after Messi when we talk about the sport in the United States. I have a very, very strong held belief that we can create in North America and the United States if not the greatest league, one of the top two leagues in the world. I cannot over emphasize the magnitude of this announcement,” Jorge Mas told Miami Herald.
The American billionaire said that having the greatest player in MLS is a chance for his partners in the league and other owners to capitalise.
“Having the world’s greatest player here is something that is significant for our league, and for the football ecosystem in the United States…Lionel Messi is coming to this country to win cups and make a difference. I think it’s incumbent upon myself and my partners in the league, the other owners, to seize the moment,” he added.
Jorge further pointed out how Messi can change the MLS and emphasised that the Argentine’s presence will help the clubs to attract other talented players also.
How Messi can change MLS: “Lionel Messi is going to be the greatest ambassador and recruiter in the history of Major League Soccer. His mere presence in this league is going to be attracting talent of all ages and all levels. It is, I think, a tremendous and unprecedented opportunity that we have ahead of us. And I think that all of us collectively will take the right steps to make sure to put this league in the hyper growth that it deserves. “This is an amazing event for the league, for all the owners and every team in Major League Soccer. This will be a rising tide on all fronts.”
