Soccer shocker: Lionel Messi picks new home

Messi won the Ballon d'Or, given annually to European soccer's best player, seven times and led his home nation of Argentina to a World Cup victory over France last November.

He joins a list of prominent soccer stars to play in the MLS in their later years. David Beckham joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 after a 13-year career with the Premier League's Manchester United (1994-2003) and La Liga's Real Madrid (2003-07). Beckham is an owner of Inter Miami and increased his stake in the franchise in 2021.

From 2010-14, French soccer star Thierry Henry played for the New York Red Bulls. Four years later, Zlatan Ibrahimovic spent two seasons with the Galaxy from 2018-19, where he scored an astounding 52 goals in 56 matches.

Messi was suspended from Paris Saint-Germain last month after missing practice due to a trip to Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly received an offer from the Saudi Arabian soccer club Al-Hilal. Per BBC, Messi rejected a larger offer from Al-Hilal to join Inter Miami.

Still, Messi will be rewarded handsomely for playing in the MLS. A report surfaced Tuesday evening that revealed the full-court press the U.S. soccer league was putting on Messi to join its ranks. As part of negotiations, MLS worked alongside corporate sponsors Adidas and Apple to get the deal done.

Messi gives U.S. soccer a huge star to market. It should also serve as a boost for Apple, which has the exclusive rights to MLS. Messi also will help keep the good times rolling in South Florida, where the Miami Heat and Florida Panthers are playing for NBA and NHL titles, respectively.

While Messi will join the squad this summer, MLS will be on pause from July 15 until Aug. 20 with every MLS team participating in the Leagues Cup. It's unclear whether Messi will join in time to play in that event or if he will wait until the season kicks back into gear in the middle of August to suit up for Miami for the first time.