Football legend Lionel Messi will join MLS club Inter Miami, in a move to America that has surprised footy fans.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner recently announced the news in an interview with Spanish publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
"I’m going to join Inter Miami. The decision is 100% confirmed,” Messi told the publications on Wednesday (June 7).
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It comes as the 35-year-old's contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of the month, following two seasons at the French club where he helped PSG win the Ligue 1 title twice.
Many thought the World Cup-winning Argentine would follow in the footsteps of fellow football star Cristiano Ronaldo who earlier this year moved to Saudi Arabia to play for Al Nassr, with his contract estimated to be worth $220m.
“If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me," Messi said, with Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal reportedly interested.
“The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money”.
While work remains to finalise a formal agreement with Messi, the MLS stated.
Messi spent the majority of his European football career at Barcelona where he started out as a youth player and went on to become the one of most successful footballers, winning 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League titles.
In his recent interview, the footballer expressed his desire to return to Camp Nou after the club's financial woes two years ago forced him to leave but added he didn't want to come back under similar circumstances.
"I really wanted, I was very excited to be able to return, but, on the other hand, after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again: wait to see what was going to happen and leave my future in someone else’s hands, so to speak," he said.
The move to Inter Miami has surprised many, given that the side - co-owned by David Beckham - is currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference while head coach Phil Neville was fired last week.
So no doubt Messi's arrival will excite both the team and fans.
Here are some of the best reactions to Messi's move to Inter Miami:
Elsewhere, David Beckham is getting savaged for his Man City treble take.
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