Lionel Messi is coming to play in the USA for Inter Miami.
On on June 7, following widespread reports, with Guillem Balague first, Lionel Messi announced he has chosen to sign with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.
Messi is now set to play for David Beckham’s club 16 years after Beckham signed for the LA Galaxy and changed the face of the league. It’s expected that Messi’s arrival will leave a similar impact on the league, or greater, expanding the fanbase, and transforming the way it’s perceived both domestically and around the world.
With Messi’s arrival now official, focus transitions to when he will take the field for the MLS club. The 2023 MLS regular season, which stretches from February to October, is currently underway. On the day of Messi’s announcement, Inter Miami sat last in the Eastern Conference table, six points away from the final playoff spot. In their first game since the announcement, Inter Miami dropped a 3-1 result against the New England Revolution.
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When will Lionel Messi debut for Inter Miami?
One day prior to Messi’s official announcement, The Athletic published a report on his decision, and stated that Inter Miami boasted “growing hope” that a deal could be close, simultaneously warning that “confidence in a deal has fluctuated week to week and even day to day.”
The report by The Athletic included a note that should he join Inter Miami, he could potentially debut in the new Leagues Cup competition between Liga MX and MLS. Inter Miami are slated to play Mexico’s Cruz Azul at home on Friday, July 21 to begin group stage play.
This would give Messi a month-long break following Argentina’s two summer friendlies against Australia and Indonesia in mid-June. Messi showed his form in the first friendly against the Socceroos, netting a goal in the second minute, the fastest goal in his career. Then, he was given a little extra time off, sent for an early vacation by head coach Lionel Scaloni and missing the match against Indonesia.
That made Indonesia fans extremely upset, but for MLS supporters, the extra vacation could lead to Messi making his Inter Miami debut a bit sooner.
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However, the wait could potentially be slightly longer. According to Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer, MLS sources told him that August could be a more likely debut date.
MLS is taking a month-long break from mid-July to mid-August for the playing of the Leagues Cup tournament, and if he waits until August, a home debut on Sunday, August 20 at against Charlotte FC could make the most sense.
Inter Miami schedule for 2023 season
| Date | Time (ET) | Fixture | Competition |
| Sat, Jun. 24 | 7:30 p.m. | @ Philadelphia | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Jul. 1 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Austin FC | MLS regular season |
| Wed, Jul. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Columbus Crew | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Jul. 8 | 7:30 p.m. | @ D.C. United | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Jul. 15 | 8:30 p.m. | @ St. Louis City SC | MLS regular season |
| Fri, Jul. 21 | 8 p.m. | vs. Cruz Azul | Leagues Cup |
| Tue, Jul. 25 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Atlanta United | Leagues Cup |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Charlotte FC | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Aug. 26 | 7:30 p.m. | @ NY Red Bulls | MLS regular season |
| Wed, Aug. 30 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Nashville SC | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Sep. 3 | 10:30 p.m. | @ LAFC | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Sep. 9 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Sporting KC | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Sep. 16 | 7:30 p.m. | @ Atlanta United | MLS regular season |
| Wed, Sep. 20 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Toronto FC | MLS regular season |
| Sun, Sep. 24 | 7:30 p.m. | @ Orlando City SC | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Sep. 30 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. NYCFC | MLS regular season |
| Wed, Oct. 4 | 8:30 p.m. | @ Chicago Fire | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Oct. 7 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. FC Cincinnati | MLS regular season |
| Sat, Oct. 21 | 6:00 p.m. | @ Charlotte FC | MLS regular season |
Why did Lionel Messi join Inter Miami?
The Athletic report stated that Lionel Messi had ruled out a move to Saudi Arabia from his list of potential options. That left the decision down to just two clubs â his former side Barcelona, or MLS club Inter Miami.
Reports claimed that Messi preferred Barcelona, but there were significant uncertainties around that possibility, mostly down to the club’s murky financial situation, and whether they could even craft a contract for Messi. Reporting around Europe claimed that Barcelona were unable to offer Messi any guarantees of contract viability, and that seems to have forced his hand.
Major League Soccer is “getting very creative with all of this,” and has “everything is on the table” according to The Athletic, in the effort to bring Messi to the United States.
Playing in the United States would afford Lionel Messi with the perfect conglomeration of all the best avenues for a final playing stop before retirement. He would have ample commercial opportunities â reports claim that Apple and Adidas are intervening to help lure Messi to the U.S. It’s unclear exactly how those two MLS partners will ultimately be involved, but revenue sharing opportunities have been floated.
Additionally, in the United States, star athletes can still typically lead normal lives, as Beckham has often shared. That, in addition to an existing home in Miami and the proximity to Argentina where he will continue to play for the national team, and the move to Major League Soccer makes sense.
Why did Lionel Messi turn down Barcelona and Saudi Arabia?
This question is much simpler to answer.
With Barcelona, it’s all down to the club’s financial standing. According to reports, they were simply unable to offer guarantees that they could float him a contract, and with Messi hoping to nail down his future in a timely manner, he ultimately couldn’t wait for them to figure it out.
The reasons behind Messi turning down Saudi Arabia are a little harder to parse out. According to reports, the Saudi league offered Messi a contract worth over $1 billion, a monetary value that is a figure that feels nearly impossible for anyone to turn down. While Messi is well-off to begin with, even someone of his net wealth would find it hard to turn his back to $1 billion.
Yet he did, and it’s likely down to what Messi values at this juncture in his career. Largely considered the greatest player of all-time, Messi seems to be concerned about his legacy as much as his financial standing.
If a report from French publication L’Equipe is to be believed, his wife Antonela Roccuzzo was also a big factor in ultimately turning down the Saudi offer.
The visibility of the United States is also probably important to Messi, both from a commercial standpoint and a competition standpoint, compared to the Saudi league. Messi’s performance will be highly scrutinized, much more than it would have been in Saudi Arabia, and while that comes with risks, he will likely be up for the challenge of finishing the job that Pele and Beckham started and help maximize soccer’s potential in the USA.
