{"id":19667,"date":"2023-06-07T19:58:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T23:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/investing\/messi-says-joining-mlss-inter-miami-wasnt-about-money-after-turning-down-400-million-from-saudi-club\/"},"modified":"2023-06-07T19:58:55","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T23:58:55","slug":"messi-says-joining-mlss-inter-miami-wasnt-about-money-after-turning-down-400-million-from-saudi-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=19667","title":{"rendered":"Messi says joining MLS\u2019s Inter Miami \u2018wasn\u2019t about money\u2019 after turning down $400 million from Saudi club"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Soccer legend and newly minted World Cup champion Lionel Messi is set to join U.S. Major League Soccer\u2019s Inter Miami CF next season, according to reports from the BBC\u2019s Guillem Balague and soccer news-breaker Fabrizio Romano<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The move for the Argentinian comes after months of speculation of which club he will play for after his eventual departure from France\u2019s Paris Saint-Germain. Other teams reportedly interested in Messi were Barcelona FC and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Al-Hilal.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf it had been a matter of money, I\u2019d have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me\u201d, Messi said in a Tuesday interview. \u201cThe truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

See also: <\/strong>LIV and PGA Tour merger: Phil Mickelson and Donald Trump are all \u2018fore\u2019 it<\/p>\n

Inter Miami is the 11th most valuable MLS club at $600 million, per Forbes, and is majority owned by Jorge Mas and soccer legend David Beckham is a co-owner.<\/p>\n

According to a report from The Athletic, Apple
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\n which owns the global streaming rights to MLS games, has gotten \u201cvery creative\u201d with discussions about a potential Messi move to the MLS. Apple has discussed offering Messi a share of the revenue generated from new subscribers to MLS Season Pass, the tech giant\u2019s Apple TV+ product to watch games, according to sources briefed on the discussions.<\/p>\n

Apple also announced Tuesday that it is producing a documentary on Messi and his World Cup career that will debut on Apple TV+.<\/p>\n

That same Athletic report indicated that Adidas, who also sponsors Messi in addition to the MLS, has considered a similar revenue sharing agreement with the soccer star if he came to the MLS.<\/p>\n

Apple and Adidas did not respond to MarketWatch\u2019s requests for comment on this story.<\/p>\n

It would be a major boost for American soccer, which has attracted superstars like Pele, Beckham and Thierry Henry over the years. <\/p>\n

While the MLS is not considered a top soccer league in the world, trailing other historic entities including England\u2019s Premier League, Germany\u2019s Bundesliga, Spain\u2019s La Liga, and Italy\u2019s Serie A, the MLS, founded in 1993, is one of the newer soccer leagues in the world.<\/p>\n

If the reports are accurate, Messi, would have turned down an offer from Al-Hilal that would have paid him roughly $428 million per season<\/a>, the highest per season contract in the history of professional sports. Other top footballer Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Saudi club Al-Nassr this season for history-making $210 million per season.<\/p>\n

Messi is a seven-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner, four-time Champions League winner, and 12-time domestic league champion and considered by many to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.<\/p>\n

Messi, 35, has a net worth in the hundreds of millions. Last year alone he made $130 million ($65 million in salary, $65 million in endorsements), according to Forbes estimates.<\/p>\n

Read on: <\/strong>LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: who is the GOAT when it comes to net worth?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n