Lionel Messi has confirmed that he will be moving to MLS side Inter Miami FC.

In a statement with Mundo Deportivo he said ‘I’m not going back to Barça, I’m going to Inter Miami.’

‘I made the decision that I’m going to go to Miami. I still haven’t closed it one hundred percent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue on the path. If the Barcelona thing didn’t come out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more in my family,’ says Messi

Messi, who will be 36 at the end of this month, had all-but ruled out a move to the US after his family set their heart on a return to Barcelona, but that became impossible because of the club’s financial situation – and the player has decided to take the Miami offer over the astronomical sums proposed by Al-Hilal.

The family already have a house in Miami and a move there has won out the Saudi deal that would have been worth over $214m a season for two campaigns and the option of a third year.

Some Barcelona supporters were on Tuesday night holding out for the possibility that their greatest ever player could be loaned back to them with the MLS season ending in October and not starting again until February.

But that now seems a remote hope and time has certainly beaten them in terms of securing his dramatic return this summer.

Barcelona were convinced they could afford their former player’s $27m gross salary but because they are in excess of their La Liga-imposed maximum squad spend the club are subject to the Spanish League’s ’40 per cent rule’ meaning they would have to shed $107m from their wage bill to add $43m to it for another player.

The club’s president Joan Laporta assured Messi’s father Jorge Messi that the club would be able to do that but that it could take up until the end of the window on September 1 and Messi was not willing to wait.

He is still smarting from the summer of 2021 when he came back from his holiday in Ibiza to sign a new Barcelona contract only to be told by the Catalan club that it had been taken off the table because of financial problems.

If Messi finally signs with Inter Miami it will be for only a fraction of the fortune he would have picked up in Saudi Arabia.

He remains contracted to Paris Saint Germain until the end of June and there was no official statement from this father and agent Jorge.

The agreement to join Miami comes as the Argentina national team plans to build a training facility in South Florida.

Much of Barcelona’s high-profile pursuit of Messi was steeped in theatre right down to a face to face meeting with father Jorge on Monday – Laporta opening the door to him in his slippers at his apartment block with local media there to capture the moment. It kept up the appearance of a club doing everything it could to bring Messi home right up until hours before his final decision.

Messi had reserved places in a local English-speaking school in nearby Casteldefels for his sons and briefed that his priority was a return. Had Barcelona sold players before the season ended it would have been more feasible.

But attempts to find Premier League takers for Ansu Fati, Raphinha and Jules Kounde failed, first and foremost because of the reluctance of the three players to leave the club.

The capture of Messi represents a massive coup for the MLS, who have to date only ended up signing a small fraction of the players linked with a move to the US.

Apple and Adidas are believed to be involved in putting together a financial package. Apple are the rights holders to show MLS games. And addidas are the kit suppliers for all the teams in the competition.

Messi’s move is also huge for David Beckham’s Inter Miami who have lost 11 of their first 16 games and are bottom of the table.

On Wednesday night another Barcelona legend, Sergi Busquets, was being linked to the club. The midfielder has a pact with Messi that the pair will play at least one season together before they retire.

In contrast Messi’s decision would represent a blow to Saudi Arabia’s hopes of sporting domination. Messi was to be the jewel in their crown this summer. Karim Benzema has agreed to move to Al-Hilal’s rivals Al-Ittihad but others on their wish list, including Luka Modric, have so far resisted the call.

On Wednesday media in Saudi Arabia did confirm the arrival of N’Golo Kante to Al Ittihad on a free transfer from Chelsea.

This is Major League Soccer’s second major signing of a world-class player that would bring lots of attention to their competition – mirroring the same move Beckham made in 2007.

As a result, MLS’s offer to Messi has included much more than just money through a club contract. ‘The league has gotten very creative with all of this,’ one stakeholder told The Athletic of a potential deal to land Messi. ‘Everything is on the table.’

The deal is said to involve contributions from two of MLS’s biggest commercial partners: Apple TV, their current broadcast rightsholder, and Adidas, MLS’s apparel sponsor.

MLS and Apple reportedly have discussed offering Messi a share of the revenue generated by new subscribers attracted to the platform’s streaming package, MLS Season Pass, by the star’s arrival in the States.

Apple is also working on a four-part docuseries that recounts Messi’s four World Cup appearances.

On top of all this, Apple appeared to leak the announcement via a Tweet that has since been deleted.

Meanwhile, the report added that Adidas is offering Messi a profit-sharing agreement with the sportswear giant, which would involve the player receiving a cut of any increase in Adidas’ profits resulting from his involvement in MLS.

Messi and Adidas have a long-standing partnership – with the Argentine signing with the German sportswear brand back in 2006. He eventually inked a lifetime footwear deal with them in 2017.

There are also rumors that Messi will have the same option in his contract that Beckham was granted allowing the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner to purchase a stake in an MLS club at a pre-set price.

One potential issue for Inter Miami is where they might play their matches now that arguably the greatest player of all time is heading to their club.

Inter Miami has struggled for years to build a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Miami. However, a 25,000 seat venue is scheduled to be completed by 2025.

In the meantime, the club has played its matches at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale – an 18,000 seat venue located 30 miles north of downtown.

With Messi’s arrival, the need for a bigger venue might force Inter to consider other options – such as the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins and the University of Miami’s American football teams.

Messi’s departure comes at a time where his relationship with his club, PSG, is arguably at its worst.

The fan’s supporters have been booing Messi’s name when he’s announced as well as whenever he has touched the ball in some matches.

There is greater turmoil within the Parisian club – with manager Christophe Galtier sacked after a single season and rumors suggesting that Neymar might want out.

Paris Saint-Germain won the Ligue 1 title on the final day by one point over title rivals Lens, in spite of a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Clermont Foot.