As per reports, MLS club Inter Miami is nearing an agreement to sign Argentina star Lionel Messi. The Miami-based franchise is confident that the Paris Saint Germain talisman will sign after the World Cup in Qatar. Inter Miami, which is co-owned by David Beckham, expects Messi to move from the French league at the end of the European season, in a deal that will make the 35-year-old the highest-paid player in the history of MLS.
The Times reported that Miami has also looked to further improve their side by recruiting players who can play well with Messi like his two former Barcelona teammates — Cesc Fàbregas and Luis Suárez — who are reportedly on top of the list. Suárez is currently playing for Nacional in his home country Uruguay in July while Fàbregas is now playing in Italy’s Serie B at Como.
Miami had previously expressed interest in signing Messi. In June last year Jorge Mas, who co-owns the franchise with Beckham, told the Miami Herald that they hoped to bring one of the greatest players in history to America.
Similarly, Phil Neville confirmed Inter’s desire to acquire him from PSG. “This club will always want to bring a superstar to Miami, and a lot of top players want to come here because of where we are,” said Neville, whose contract as head coach was recently extended for another season after guiding his side in the 2022 play-offs.
A day before these reports surfaced, Messi rescued Argentina in a do-or-die fixture against Mexico in the World Cup where he scored the opening goal. Reacting to the win, Messi talked about the importance of the fixture as he said, “The first game cost us, and there were a lot of factors behind that defeat. We knew that today we had to win, that another World Cup was starting for us, and as a team we knew how we could do it.”