In a week dominated by stories about the Saudi influence over sport—with Karim Benzema joining Al-Ittihad and the Saudi Public Investment Fund buying four Saudi clubs while reaching an agreement with the PGA and the DP World Tour to end golf’s civil war—it came as something of a surprise to find that Lionel Messi will not be joining the exodus of aging stars to the Saudi league.
Messi confirmed Wednesday that he will join Inter Miami. It’s a move that seems motivated by three main factors: the desire to establish a legacy in the U.S., particularly in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup there; the fact that his family would rather live in Florida than Riyadh or Jeddah; and the possibility of lucrative deals with Apple and Adidas, major backers of MLS, which would presumably make up to an extent the enormous sums Messi could make in Saudi Arabia (he had reportedly been offered $400 million per year). And, of course, joining Inter Miami doesn’t preclude the possibility of a move to Saudi Arabia in a year or two.
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