Former Manchester City forward, Sergio Aguero has claimed that Lionel Messi chose to join Inter Miami over moving to Saudi Arabia because of his family’s convenience.
Messi moved to Inter Miami in July 2023 after rejecting a world-record contract from Saudi Arabian club, Al Hilal.
Aguero told Stake that the 36-year-old Argentina captain may have been tired of high-level football and thus decided to join the American club, where he can play and relax.
He said; “I think that at the end of this stage, with the age that Leo [Lionel Messi] and Cristiano are, and many players aged 32 and 33, maybe they are tired of so much demand to be at a high level.
“I think that Leo opted for him and his family to be well and to be able to play as relaxed as possible; and in the other case if he had been playing in Europe, obviously that the requirement is different and so he can’t play his last years the way he wanted, which is to enjoy, right?
“And obviously, I think that between Miami and Arabia, I think he chose Miami for convenience. Miami is a nice place, there are lots of Latinos, and I think he also saw it from the family side, which I think they can fit quite well in Miami, and in Arabia it can be more complicated, right? I think he saw nothing more than that”.
Meanwhile in other news…
Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has shared a conversation he had with Lionel Messi, where the forward revealed why he snubbed a return to the team.
Messi said he passed over the chance to rejoin the La Liga club because of how “difficult” his spell at Paris Saint-Germain was.
Laporta made this known during an interview with Mundo Deportivo. The Argentina international, instead, chose to Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS).
“The player wanted it, the father wanted it, but the rhythms are different. We didn’t want what happened last time.
“He told us that he decided to join Inter Miami because he had spent very difficult seasons in Paris, where he was under a lot of pressure, while in Miami he would be calmer and could think about the national team and that, although he wanted to come to Barça, he didn’t want to spend another year like this,” Barca president said.
It may be recalled that Messi earlier opened up on what influenced his decision to join Paris Saint-Germain after he left Barcelona.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner left the Spanish team in 2021 as a free agent, because of their financial issues. Following an emotional exit, Messi was then unveiled by the Ligue 1 champions.
The 35-year-old playmaker’s two-year stint at PSG has now come to an end and he is set to sign for Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS).
Messi told Bein Sports in an exclusive interview that he opted for Paris Saint-Germain because his friends were there. After being signed by the French side, he teamed up with international teammates Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes.
“I came to Paris because I liked the club and had friends there, and a lot of people I knew from the national team. It seemed easier for me to adapt unlike anywhere else I could have gone and that’s why I decided to come to Paris,” Messi said.
