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Lionel Messi heading to Inter Miami

3 minute read

Lionel Messi will join MLS side Inter Miami this summer after his exit from French champions Paris St-Germain.

Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates after scoring v France Picture: AAP Image

The BBC reports that Argentina icon Messi is all set to reject a more lucrative offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.

This will be the first time that Messi, 35, will play outside of Europe. The attacker wanted to stay in Europe after lifting titles with Barcelona and PSG, but after no adequate offers were received, he had the straight choice between Inter Miami or Al-Hilal.

Barcelona were keen on a reunion, but the Financial Fair Play limitations that will be in place for next season in LaLiga made that mobe unviable.

The deal to take him to Miami, where Phil Neville has recently left as head coach, includes tie-ins with brands like Adidas and Apple.

Messi, who has won the award for the world's best player seven times, already has a house in Miami which he rents out.

He was heavily tipped to be favouring a move to Saudi Arabia, where he would have joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in the league in a deal that could not be matched financially.

But Messi was ultimately tempted to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami for a variety of reasons including lifestyle and other deals that extends beyond football.