Well, well, well, it looks as though footballing legend Lionel Messi has chosen his next destination and he’ll be heading to MLS to play for David Beckham’s franchise team Inter Miami.
Where will Messi play next season?
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker departed the club earlier this month having just helped his side win Ligue 1. He scored 32 goals and provided 35 assists in 75 games during a two-year spell in France.
In an official statement, he expressed his gratitude saying: “I would like to thank the club, the city of Paris and its people for these two years. I wish you all the best for the future.”
Understandably, there has been much speculation about where exactly he could be playing next season with a return to Barcelona rumoured, while a touted move to Saudi Arabia was also touted.
However, trusted Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has now claimed the 35-year-old will be playing in America next term.
On Twitter, he wrote: “Messi has decided. His destination: Inter Miami.”
What has been the reaction to Messi leaving PSG?
It will be interesting to see how Messi gets on playing outside of Europe at club level for the first time as a senior footballer – having come through the famous La Masia academy in Barcelona.
PSG teammate Neymar certainly seemed sad to see his South American compatriot leaving. Indeed, he wrote on Instagram:
“Brother… it didn’t turn out as we thought but we tried everything. It was a pleasure to share two more years with you.
“Good luck in your new stage and be happy. I love you.”
Others seemed less sad to see the 35-year-old leaving France. For instance, Sergio Aguero’s son, Benjamin, trolled the Ligue 1 side when they announced the departure, saying: “He was too big for you.”
Inter Miami are of course Beckham’s MLS franchise team, so it’s not hard to see why that sort of glamourous foreign club may have appealed to Messi.
However, they aren’t exactly performing so well recently and actually just opted to sack head coach Phill Neville amid a run of just two wins in their last 13 games.
It remains unclear who will be the club’s next permanent manager. Whoever it is, though, it seems they’ll be fortunate enough to coach arguably the greatest-ever footballer.