New Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has revealed that he ‘dreamt’ of returning to Barcelona but that he became ‘tired’ of waiting for his former side to be able to free up the funds to make it a viable option this summer.
The Argentina star was due to become a free agent this summer after his contract with Paris Saint Germain ended, and was widely expected to make a move to Al-Hilal to join fellow great Cristiano Ronaldo in the middle east.
However, in a shock turn of events, he is instead MLS bound to join David Beckham’s Inter Miami side, which has reportedly left Al-Hilal furious.
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) June 7, 2023
Speaking for the first time as an Inter Miami player, Messi confirmed that a deal with Barcelona had been in the works, but that ultimately it wouldn’t have worked out despite his dream of returning to Camp Nou.
“I spoke to Xavi a lot, we discussed and we always had frequent exchanges”, the Argentine World Cup winner told Mundo Deportivo.
“I really wanted to return to Barça, I had that dream. But after what happened two years ago, I did not want to be in the same situation again, leaving my future in the hands of someone else…”
“I heard reports of La Liga giving the green light but the truth is that many, really many things were still missing in order to make my return to Barça happen”,
“I didn’t want to be responsible for them to sell players or reduce salaries. I was tired”.
However, he continued, his decision to move to the MLS was not based on money despite the eyewatering salary on offer by Al-Hilal.
“If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me”,
“The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money”.
Messi is expected to join up with former teammate Sergio Busquets in the MLS.
