According to a report from Sportico on Monday, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are working to finalize a megadeal that might be worth as much as $150 million to bring the superstar to the MLS.
According to Sportico, this sum accounts for the player’s salary, signing bonus, and equity stake in the club, and it is valid until the 2025 season with an extension option for the 2026 campaign. The first amount does not take into account revenue-sharing agreements with MLS partners like as Adidas, Apple, and Fanatics; these companies are not included in the initial total.
According to Forbes, Messi already has a contract with Adidas that is good for his whole life.
According to Sportico, MLS will not subsidize the deal, and Messi will not have the same opportunity to own an MLS franchise as David Beckham had when he transferred to MLS in 2007. Messi will also not have the option to buy a team in the Champions League. That possibility eventually led to the formation of Inter Miami, a club in which Beckham is involved as a co-owner.
Messi, who will be 36 years old this coming Saturday, was the shining figure for Argentina’s World Cup winning squad in 2022. When his contract with the French club Paris Saint-Germain runs out at the end of this month, he will technically be free to sign with any team he wants. He said on June 7 that he had chosen Inter Miami over other international offers, one of which was reportedly for $400 million per year to play for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Inter Miami is an American professional soccer team.
It is anticipated that he will make his debut with Inter Miami on July 21 in a home Leagues Cup encounter against Cruz Azul, a side from Liga MX.
The new agreement that Messi has signed will add to the enormous money he already has. With yearly earnings of $130 million — split 50/50 between playing on the field and receiving sponsorships — he came in at number two on Forbes’ 2023 list of the highest-paid athletes.