MIAMI — Another month, another Messi-to-Miami rumor.
And once again, Inter Miami officials and Lionel Messi’s representatives are denying the report, saying it is premature conjecture.
A report from DIRECTV Sports Argentina correspondent Alex Candal saying that Messi “will acquire 35 percent of Inter Miami and join the team in Summer 2023” went viral on social media. Candal said “the contract is done and will be signed in August.”
But two high-ranking Inter Miami officials told the Miami Herald that the report is not true and that there is no deal in the works. It is no secret that Inter Miami has had conversations with Messi for years about the next stage of his career and that he has a condo in Miami Beach, but officials said they don’t expect a deal anytime in the foreseeable future.
The rumor gained traction after Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham posted Instagram photos of himself Monday with Paris Saint Germain stars Messi, Neymar, Sergio Ramos and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi’s agents told Le Parisien the report “is completely false, Leo has not yet decided on his future. And if Leo Messi has crossed paths with David Beckham in the last few hours, it is only as part of PSG’s stay in Doha where the former English midfielder plays a role as an ambassador for the next World Cup in Qatar.”
Messi’s contract with Paris Saint Germain runs through 2023 and Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas hinted at the start of this season that the club would extend a lucrative offer for the day he decides to leave PSG.
Messi has a home in South Florida and has said he wouldn’t mind spending a few years in MLS. His salary is $41 million per year, a different stratosphere than the $6 million Higuain — Miami’s highest-paid player — makes. But surely, MLS, adidas and other sponsors would get involved with creative packages to lure a megastar like Messi to America.
It is possible he could become a team owner as part of the deal, a perk Beckham got in his contract when he joined Major League Soccer and played for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
“Leo Messi is still one of the best players in the world, his skills have not diminished,” Mas said before the season. “I think, and David (Beckham) has a relationship with him, if he does leave PSG, at the time he leaves it, we’d love to see Lionel Messi be a player at Inter Miami and be part of our community. Can it happen? Look, we’ll push. I’m an optimist at heart. Could I see that happening? It’s a possibility.”
