Amuse Productions

As a kid growing up I was a big fan of the beautiful game. Growing up in a Latino household probably helped, but my godfather was the main person whom I can thank for this passion that awoke from a very young age. Part of my family is from Mexico so naturally my godfather wanted me to follow a team in Mexico, well the team he supported his whole life, Club America. (Cry Chivas fans). My first taste of European “football” as I learned it was rightfully called, was with the red devils in England, Manchester United. Seeing club legends like Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Edin Van Der Sar, and Dimitri Berbatov to name a few, was an absolutely incredible experience anytime I saw them play, and so my second affiliation was now fulfilled. However, my true love for the game was when I saw Lionel Messi play for the very first time on TV. Something mesmerized me watching this 5’7″ man running circles around his opponents while 2,3,4 different defenders all crowded Messi, yet somehow, someway he would always come away from any tackle and probably score a goal. After watching him win so many different trophies, scoring so many goals, even molding my game on the football pitch after him, Messi became a role model in my life, and now he makes his way to the US in the most unexpected move in sports history.

Months and even years of talks leading up to this have happened. When Leo Messi’s deal with FC Barcelona was expiring back in 2018, the MLS seemed like a move that may have happened around that time as David Beckham was gearing up to bring an MLS team to Miami in, of course, Inter Miami. As all new MLS teams they seemed to bring in a franchise player to build around for both marketing as well as potential quality purposes too. Carlos Vela to LAFC from Real Sociedad in Spain, Brazilian legend Kaka from AC Milan in Italy to Orlando City FC, and David Villa from Atletico Madrid in Spain to NYCFC, to name a few. Messi seemed geared up for the move, however Barcelona even with financial problems convinced Messi to stay and having to off load a few contracts, seemed pretty worthy for Barcelona as they would win the league in 2018-19, as well as the Copa Del Rey in 2020-21. However, in a press conference in 2021 it was announced by Messi himself, with tears in his eyes, that he would be leaving his beloved Barcelona to PSG in France as the Spanish club’s financial issues deemed too much for their own good and could not even afford to keep Messi, even after Leo himself offered them to give him a pay cut.

His stint in PSG saw him win 2 league titles and with Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s longtime rival and secret friend, out of Europe, he became Europe’s top all-time goal scorer with 715 goals. At this time though the world was fixated on his International career with Argentina, and well he did not disappoint leading Argentina to their first World Cup trophy in almost 40 years and a resume now completed having ultimate success in both International and Club play. However, a few months ago this year it was reported that Messi was not happy at PSG, especially after being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Bayern Munich. At this point Messi’s future was up in the air. A Barcelona return almost seemed inevitable, but it seemed that the money wasn’t really the issue this time for Leo, but it was actually the desire for him to not mess up the chemistry of this team, more so since they just came off a fantastic season capturing their first LaLiga title in 2 years. Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal seemed to sweep Messi off of PSG’s hands after seemingly racketeering the European leagues of their best players with their insurmountable amounts of money, offering Leo himself $400 million a year, and a total of $1.7 Billion in total. For Messi though it never is about the money, but it seems comfort and challenge is something he looks for.

Now you may ask yourself, why Miami of all places? Well, if anyone knows Messi, he is a very private person and seems to be very comfortable with familiar settings, and with Miami having a primarily Spanish speaking community, it’s perfect for Messi to live out the twilight of his career at Inter Miami. His deal with Inter Miami is no small deal either. The Floridian club offered him a 2 year $60 Million/year deal with Apple reaching an agreement with Leo to gain a percentage of new subscribers for Apple TV+ over the 2 years, as well as a percentage from Adidas of the jerseys sold with his name on it, aaaaaaaand stocks in an MLS club, maybe Inter Miami, but it has not been revealed which club yet, which is a super unique and honestly incredible deal for him and his future. Despite the team at this point in time of the 2023 MLS Season being in last place with a 5-0-12 record, Messi would probably jump this team a few spots with his mere presence on the pitch. On July 21st we will see Messi’s first game in North America part of a club, against Cruz Azul of all teams in the newly renamed and remodeled CONCACAF Leagues Cup, and even more interesting, the game will take place in Mexico, a first for Messi as well. Having sold all the tickets they have for the whole season, Messi’s arrival in the US is something amazing to see, and I might even get a chance to see him play before he calls it a career. Welcome to the greatest player of all time, and welcome to his new innovations and moments he will bring to a brand new audience. Bienvenidos, Leo!