Lionel Messi has opened up about his decision to reject a world record contract offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal in favour of a switch to Inter Miami, aiming a subtle dig at rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the process.
Messi has agreed to join David Beckham's MLS franchise after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, turning down a highly lucrative move to Saudi Arabia and a fairytale return to former club Barcelona in the process. The 35-year-old had been expected to become the latest big name footballer to move to the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January after leaving Manchester United, while his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema has signed with Al-Ittihad. World Cup winners N'Golo Kante, Sergio Busquets and Sergio Ramos have also been linked with big money moves to Saudi sides.
Despite already having close ties to Saudi Arabia through his role as a tourism ambassador for the nation, which notably got him in trouble towards the end of his PSG stint, Messi decided to snub a reported $400 million (£321m) per year contract offer to join Al-Hilal.
And in an interview with Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo discussing his decision to join Inter Miami, Messi opened up about rejecting Al-Hilal and Barcelona and appeared to aim a dig at big name footballers like Ronaldo who have accepted bumper deals to play in Saudi Arabia.
"The truth is that economics were never a problem for me or an obstacle at all," Messi insisted. "We never even got to talk about a contract [with Barcelona].
"A proposal was passed over, but never a formal, written, signed proposal, because there was still nothing and we did not know if it was going to be possible or not. There was the intention, but we couldn't advance anything, we didn't even talk about money formally.
"If it had been a matter of money I would have gone to [Saudi] Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me and the truth is that my decision went another way and not for money."
Messi also opened up about his time at PSG, admitting he was "not happy" at the club and that the move "affected my family life". He explained: "These were two years [PSG] in which I was not happy. I did not enjoy myself, and that affected my family life, I missed a lot of my children's lives at school."
