It’s only been a few weeks, but it would be fair to say that Lionel Messi’s move to the MLS has already been a massive success. The former Barcelona star joined Inter Miami and has proven he still has gas in the tank.
The 36-year-old arrived in the States to a fanfare and to prove that there he is more than just a marketing ploy, the Argentine international has racked up seven goals in his first four games, albeit all in the Leagues Cup, as opposed to in the MLS itself.
The interest in soccer, a sport that is seemingly continually trying to crack America, is certainly on an upward curve, and this has led to renewed interest in fans backing their viewing experience with a bet, which means knowing that this list of the best MLS betting sites will come in very handy indeed.
Messi’s involvement with soccer in the US is certainly going to have a massively positive impact on the push to put the sport up alongside the likes of American Football, Baseball, and Basketball, and this is something that was touched upon by former United States National Team player Taylor Twellman, who stated;
“The Messi people in the group have asked the question for the last two or three years, ‘How can Lionel Messi become the next Michael Jordan?’”
“And people over here don’t understand what that means. PSG wore the Jordan brand, that is a basketball player in the United States that transcends sport, Michael Jordan. Messi’s people have asked the question, ‘ How can he become the next Michael Jordan?’ The only place to do that is the United States of America.”
“They know that. The World Cup’s there in 2026, Copa America is there in 2024. Apple TV’s got the documentary along with Major League Soccer events. He and his family want to live in Miami. A lot of that was lined up for him and his people to answer that question or how he becomes the next Michael Jordan.”
Messi left French side Paris Saint Germain in the summer and no doubt had plenty of offers; no doubt interest also came in from Saudi Arabia, where a number of high-profile players have moved in recent weeks.
Cristiano Ronaldo already joined Al Nassr, but Messi opted to take another path and one that he is clearly enjoying.
Lionel Messi has achieved it all in his career. We are talking about a player who scored an incredible 672 goals for Barcelona and won ten domestic titles and the UEFA Champions League four times before opting to move to Paris, a move that, on the face of it, achieved little in terms of his long-term goals.
Hence his move to Inter Miami makes a great deal of sense, not just because of the chance to become the figurehead for a new league but also given the overall challenge he has to make Inter Miami, a new MLS franchise, a success.
It will be interesting to see how Messi takes to life when the MLS gets back underway in mid-August.
It may actually work in his favour that Inter Miami are so poorly placed with 12 games left to go in the regular season that they have very little hope of making the playoffs, and therefore by the following season, he’ll be more up to speed with life in the MLS.
