Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets train with Inter Miami. (Twitter)
The Argentine World Cup-winner, Messi, joined the David Beckham-owned Inter Miami following his spell with Ligue 1 champions PSG, while Busquets joins the MLS side after his time at Barcelona. The duo reunited after a gap of two years following Messi’s departure from Catalunya.
Inter Miami announced the signing of seven-time Balon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets in a grand manner at the DRV PNK Stadium earlier in the week.
The Argentine World Cup-winning skipper, Messi, joined the David Beckham-owned Inter Miami following his spell with Ligue 1 champions PSG, while Busquets joins the MLS side after his time with his beloved Catalan side.
The duo reunited after a gap of a couple of years, since Messi’s move to PSG from Barcelona as many years ago, and were seen in good spirits during their first training session in the American side.
Messi turned down huge deals from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in Europe to sign for the MLS side after becoming disillusioned with his time in the Parisian club, where the fans turned on the genius from Rosario following the club’s early exit from the UEFA Champions League, which remains yet elusive to the Qatari-owned club.
The 36-year-old lifted two Ligue 1 titles during his time in France, but couldn’t replicate domestic success in the prestigious European tournament and this caused undue animosity from the fans who boo-ed and jeered the Argentine great.
A move back to Barcelona was touted but the switch did not materialise as the Catalan giant’s financial issues made it impossible for Barca’s favourite son to return to the Blaugrana.
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The signing of arguably the best player in the history of the game on North American shores is a huge boost to the continent which is slated to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Messi’s arrival at Miami makes him the highest-paid player in the MLS by far and the league has also offered him future ownership options when his playing career comes to an end. MLS streaming partner Apple TV also went the extra mile to bring Messi to the American League as they offered him a cut of the new subscriptions to the platform after the signing of the 36-year-old was announced.
