SOUTH FLORIDA – On June 3, Leo Messi played his last game for Paris Saint German in the French Ligue One.
Since PSG announced Leo would not be coming back to the French league champions next year, many started to speculate where Messi would end up.
Saudi Arabia, whose league has been making a big splash in the soccer world by signing on Cristiano Ronaldo last December, also added superstar players Karim Benzema and N’golo Kante recently with hopes and ambitions of adding Messi as well by offering him a near $400 million-dollar contract.
Meanwhile here in the United States, local MLS team Inter Miami, who is owned by soccer legend David Beckham, was reportedly aiming to make an offer to bring the Argentine to South Florida and make him the next big superstar to hop the pond into the United States.
Naturally these were just rumors.
The thought of Messi coming to play in the United States was an unimaginable idea until June 7.
Soccer guru Fabrizio Romano announced Messi’s arrival to Miami on Twitter on the morning of June 7, sending the world into a frenzy.
Beckham was the first to make the leap by joining the LA Galaxy in 2007. Thierry Henry followed over in 2010 by joining the New York Red Bulls. Didier Drogba was the next in 2015 when he joined the Montreal Impact.
And the latest was Zlatan Ibrahimovich, who joined the LA Galaxy in 2017With all this being said, what does Messi’s arrival to Miami mean for us in South Florida?
Here are some potential impacts.
Increased popularity and fanbase: Messi is one of the greatest footballers of all time, and his arrival in Miami would undoubtedly attract a massive following. His presence would draw in more fans to watch matches, both in person and on television, leading to increased interest and popularity for soccer in the United States.
Youth development and inspiration: Messi’s presence would serve as a tremendous source of inspiration for young soccer players in the United States. Seeing one of the greatest players of all time up close and watching his performances could motivate and encourage aspiring players to pursue their dreams. This could lead to an improved level of talent development in the country and potentially produce more high-quality players in the future. Especially here in South Florida, where soccer has a big hold on the local culture.
Messi is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time and his reputation proceeds him. His career started back in 2004 when he was called up to the FC Barcelona senior team. During his near twenty-year tenure in Spain, Messi racked up 474 goals in 520 games before moving over to the French team PSG, where he scored 31 goals in 56 games.
During his storied career Messi has won the UEFA Champions League four times with Barcelona, the Spanish La Liga Championship ten times, the Copa Del Rey (Spanish Domestic Cup) seven times, the Supercopa de Espana (Spanish Super Cup) eight times, and the French Ligue One championship twice. In his International career representing his home country of Argentina, Messi has won the Copa America once in 2021 and won the FIFA World Cup in 2022 this past December, cementing himself as the greatest plater of all time.
Messi has won the Ballon D’or, soccer’s most prestigious individual award, a record seven times.
With all this hardware to his name, it is no longer hard to see what all the hype around Messi’s arrival to Miami would be about.
We are all excited to see what the superstar will do in his time here in Miami.
PHOTO CREDIT: @transfermarkt – Instagram
