The Saudis and the Spanish Weep: How Did Al Hilal And Barcelona Both Miss Out on Messi?
What a week for footballing legends.
Wednesday morning, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Argentine superstar and World Cup MVP Lionel Messi would be leaving Paris for Miami, to sign with Inter Miami FC of the MLS.
With Zlatan Ibrahimović announcing his retirement, Karim Benzema and Sergio Busquets moving on from their respective clubs and Jude Bellingham signing a megadeal with Real Madrid (he’s only 19 but it feels like he’s been a star for years), Messi’s transfer saga only capped off an already busy June.
It all started days before PSG officially let go of Lionel Messi, when head coach Christophe Galtier hinted at the player’s future by stating he “had the privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football”. Galtier also wished the Argentine would “receive the warmest of welcomes” in what would be “his last match at the Parc des Princes”, ultimately a 3–2 defeat to Clermont Foot that saw PSG fans booing Messi off the pitch.
Around the same time, rumors of a transfer to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia grew as a group of Al Hilal representatives traveled to Paris to meet with Lionel and his agent, Jorge Messi (his father). However, despite the incredibly lucrative offer from the Saudi Arabians, Jorge Messi insisted that Leo “want[ed] to return to Barca”.
Indeed, Barcelona had been planning to re-sign Messi to the squad, with only La Liga regulations preventing the Catalan side from doing so. And when La Liga gave the green light Monday, everything was pointing towards a dramatic, a romantic, a call-it-what-you-like phenomenal return to FC Barcelona…
So, obviously, he accepted an offer from Inter Miami.
First of all- what? Supposedly, just as Al Hilal and Barcelona were fighting for Messi’s signature, retired PSG striker and Inter Miami owner David Beckham was working with his club to send an offer to Leo. Even the league helped with he deal, Commissioner Don Garber knowing that Messi’s presence would support the growth of U.S. soccer as a whole and thus throwing around the idea of all the U.S. clubs participating in a joint bid for Messi (each club paying a part of Messi’s wages). While that plan never came to fruition, Miami did submit a high offer- almost as high as Al Hilal’s- with reports of Adidas and Apple pitching in to get the deal done.
While Messi never seemed convinced, nor was his father, one person certainly was: his wife. It seems very plausible that her encouragement, along with the profitability and luxury of Beckham’s beachside proposition, was enough for Messi to decide to come to sunny Miami.
That’s not to say the Saudi League Pro completely lost: just yesterday, ex-Madrid striker Karim Benzema signed a deal with champions Al-Ittihad Club, and Chelsea midfielder N’golo Kanté is reported to follow suit. Many others, including Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Luka Modrić, are also linked to a possible move to Saudi Arabia. And, of course, Ronaldo astutely announced to the world earlier this week that he doesn’t plan on leaving Al-Nassr anytime soon…
Then again, SPORT and Relevo journalist Toni Juanmarti suggests that there is an MLS Club looking into Ronaldo’s signature, just as Sporting Kansas City did prior to Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr move. So who knows, maybe the next El Clásico will be Sporting Kansas City versus Inter Miami. What would that be called, the Liberal Rebels Rivalry? Or the Gender Reveal Color Scheme Classic? Either title, absurd as they may seem, would almost fit right in with El Tráfico, the Hell is Real Derby, and the Trillium Cup.
Besides, any rivalry is a cool one if it has the GOAT in it.
