The Lionel Messi drama brings a severe blow to Barcelona, as it seems to be nearing a close as the Argentine is likely to finalize a move to Inter Miami. The 35-year-old has been the subject of intense interest from the Blaugrana for the last half a year, but the Catalan giants have been unable to present a formal bid.
The World Cup winner has been courted by both Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, and he had to make a choice shortly. Thus, as reported by various reports in Spain and France, the superstar’s entourage notified the club that the veteran will not be returning.
La Liga’s champions are certainly devastated by this news since they had hoped to re-sign their former skipper for one more hurrah. In its place, Inter Miami will be fielding the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who will be compensated handsomely thanks to a share of revenue generated by MLS’ commercial partnerships with companies like Adidas and Apple.