Lionel Messi insists he is happy with his decision to snub a return to Barcelona this summer in order to take on a fresh challenge with struggling MLS club Inter Miami.
Barcelona were determined to re-sign Messi ahead of next season, having seen him join Paris Saint-Germain two years ago after financial limitations meant they couldn't register his new contract.
Messi was initially ready to go back to Camp Nou – even now, he is still keen for him and his family to live in the city when he retires from football – but was left unconvinced over whether the club would have the spending power to actually make it happen.
Upon his move to Miami being announced, the 35-year-old said he wanted full control of the decision and not for it to be left in the hands of others, as had been the case in 2021.
But even with Inter Miami sitting bottom of the Eastern Conference as Messi prepares to join when the mid-season MLS transfer window opens next month, he has no regrets about the choice.
"I'm well. Initially, we had a different idea [than joining Inter Miami]," he told Publica in Argentina.
"We're happy with the decision taken. I'm ready and eager to face this new challenge, this change. It was an important step but at the same time, I was aware of what it meant, of what I was doing."
READ MORE ON LIONEL MESSI'S MOVE TO INTER MIAMI
Messi had already revealed that conversations with Barcelona never progressed to the stage of formal talks about money, and that he would have taken the offer to move to Saudi Arabia had that the financial side of things been his chief source of motivation.
Instead, lifestyle appears to have been among the factors in choosing Miami over elsewhere.
Back in 2020, then San Jose Earthquakes head coach and former Argentina international Matias Almeyda told 90min why he thought MLS would be a good move for Messi in the future – and it had everything to do with being able to recapture a degree of normality in his family life.
"The U.S. is a big country," Almeyda told 90min at the time. "It has 350m inhabitants, I think. The stars here can walk in peace in the street. Each person who wants a life can enjoy what he likes [and] will live a different life.
"For [Messi], for his children, for his wife, he will be able to walk, to ride a bicycle, he will be able to go to the supermarket. He won't be under that fame that turns you into a slave, you know? That's why I think [USA] could be a good place for him. In that way, you turn to be a normal human again. All the players that want to be normal pick this place."
LISTEN NOW
On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Toby Cudworth is joined by Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss the latest transfer news. On the agenda is future of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi's shock move to Inter Miami, Declan Rice's proposed Arsenal deal, Tottenham's summer plans and more.
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
This article was originally published on 90min as Lionel Messi insists he is 'happy' with Inter Miami decision.
