After emerging from a curtain and moving a short distance along a runway built up above the field at Inter Miami’s stadium, Lionel Messi approached David Beckham and gave him a bear hug.
his journey’s conclusion. Inter Miami no longer had to wait.
Finally, Messi has come.
Inter Miami finally acquired perhaps the biggest name in the game on Sunday night after years of preparation, pleading, and hope. Millions of people will purchase his pink No. 10 jersey over the coming weeks and months after they presented it to their new franchise player.
Messi promised the audience, “I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of great times.”
It was the first one on Sunday. The event didn’t begin on schedule due to terrible weather, but practically every seat was filled, and no one appeared to notice that it rained heavily the entire night.
Messi expressed his deep emotion by saying, “I’m very moved to be here with you in Miami.” “I want to thank you all for the kindness you have shown me on behalf of my family.”
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Beckham, who serves as the team’s president and co-owner, had large rain-induced dark patches all over his blue jacket.
This celebration, where guests cheered and the music played loud, would require more than rain to be ruined.
During the broadcast of the event, Beckham observed, “Tonight is a typical Miami welcome for one of the best players to ever play the game.” “We’re very proud of what we’ve made,” he said. “The fact that our fans are here celebrating this moment is what we’ve made.”
The club’s principal owner, Jorge Mas, stated: “When David and I first met and dreamed of what Inter Miami stands for, it started with the freedom to dream.” In addition to the best and most skilled players, we also wanted to include Lionel Andrés Messi, the greatest player to ever lace up his shoes.
Many people, to put it mildly, had their doubts about how feasible it was that Messi would join Inter Miami and bring the World Cup title to Major League Soccer when Inter Miami first started making those claims.
One of them is Don Garber, who oversees the MLS. Even the league’s president had some reservations.
Now, not anymore. Messi visiting Miami is not only absurdity. Due to what transpired, Messi is now required to assist a side that has lost 11 straight games and has the fewest points in the Major League Soccer standings.
Here we are with a player who, in Garber’s opinion, is without a doubt the finest of all time as well as the best of his generation.had to make a decision regarding where he would play during the previous few months, if not the previous year. You’ve probably heard us mention many times that we want MLS to be a league that players, fans, partners, and ultimately investors can pick.
“I think that says a lot about where Major League Soccer is now and where it’s going in the years to come,” said the greatest player to ever play the game.
The “The Unveil” ceremony took held in Fort Lauderdale on the team’s playing field. It happens the day after Messi, MLS, and Inter Miami agreed to a contract extension that will keep him with their sides until the 2025 campaign.
Messi’s first week with his new team will be jam-packed with events. The media will be able to see him train for the first time on Tuesday. If everything goes according to plan, he will participate in a Leagues Cup match on Friday against Cruz Azul. That may also be Sergio Busquets’ first game with his new Miami squad as a World Cup champion player from Spain. On Sunday, he finalized his long-awaited contract with the team, which runs until the 2025 campaign.
Messi, 36, and Busquets, 35, used to play together at Barcelona. Busquets just celebrated his birthday on Sunday.
Busquets declared, “I’m very excited to take this opportunity because it is one-of-a-kind and exciting.”
Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina and has won the Ballon d’Or seven times as the best player in the world, is joining a team that has the fewest points in MLS and hasn’t won in 11 games. The season began for Inter Miami with two victories, but since then, the squad has a record of 3-14-3. It will need to win a lot of games to even have a shot considering there are only 12 MLS games left in this season and it is 12 points off of a playoff berth.
The team has already stated that Messi’s contract will pay him between $50 million and $60 million annually for 2 1/2 seasons. This indicates that the contract’s total cash value is in the range of $125 million and $150 million. Other items’ values are also unknowable.
It should be enjoyable. Garber remarked, “This journey here in Miami has been an epic one.”
Messi is a great player; he led Argentina to the World Cup in December and is still thought to be one of the best goal makers, if not the best, in the world.
Still, not everyone thinks it will be easy for Messi to play in the MLS, even though he is a star.
Wayne Rooney, a great player for England and Manchester United who now trains D.C. United, told The Times of London on Sunday, “It won’t be easy for him here.” “It sounds crazy, but players who join find that the game is hard. There’s a lot of energy and intensity on the pitch, and there’s a lot of traveling and different conditions in different places.”
But Rooney also knows how important Messi’s presence is to MLS and to soccer in the U.S.
“Americans love winners,” said Rooney. “More than anything, they want to see skill and have fun, and Messi gives them both.”
Messi told everyone about his choice at the beginning of June, and the excitement for Sunday has been building ever since.
“This is our moment,” said Mas. “This is our chance to change the way football is played in this country.”