Messi’s Messy Miami Takeover
Lionel Messi is arguably the best soccer player in the world. He was born July 24th, 1987, in Argentina. His talent was evident from a very young age and he signed with FC Barcelona at the age of 13. He first made an appearance with the team in 2005, when he was 16 years old, and drove the team to success. In that same year, he had made a name for himself on Argentina’s national team. He has won numerous titles for the Barcelona team and has represented the Argentina national team in many events like the Fifa World Cup and Copa American tournaments.
On July 15 2023, Inter Miami CF announced that they were going to be signing Lionel Messi on their team. Messi’s signing to Inter Miami CF has impacted Miami in more ways than one, attracting more fans towards the M.L.S. and a major influx in revenue. Messi officially joined the team on July 21, 2023. He signed for a whopping $150 million for over two and a half years with additional compensation from partners such as Apple, Adidas, etc. In an interview, Messi expresses his reasoning for choosing Inter Miami over Barcelona stating that players on the Barcelona team would’ve had to sacrifice severe pay cuts for his place on the team, along with other factors.
Messi took over Miami, making his first debut for the team and later helped deliver a 2023 Leagues Cup title against Nashville SC. The stadium was packed and roaring as fans watched -what most would say- the best player in the world. This was his 44th trophy in his career as well as the first trophy won with the new club. Since Messi has joined the team, they have not lost a single game. This is a huge achievement for the Miami team and hopefully they will continue succeeding. David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami, has long awaited this day to come. “Ten years ago, I started my journey to build a new MLS team… I said then, I dreamt of bringing the best players in the world to South Florida and to the great city of Miami” said Beckham in the middle of the soccer field.
After all this, Miami has had many Messi fans overjoyed with his arrival to the city. With murals being painted of him to a meal being named after him, I think it’s safe to say Miami is happy to have him here. Several murals of Messi have begun to pop in Wynwood, but nothing compares to one particular mural painted by Maxi Bagnasco. He painted this fantastic mural on a new residential building, a very realistic painting of Messi in his Inter Miami uniform. With fans showing their spirit and the club receiving an estimate of 15,000 fans per game, this is an amazing thing that has happened to our city and it is exciting to see what the future holds. Lionel Messi, welcome to Miami.
Artist: Maximiliano Bagnasco
Featured image: Inter Miami CF Communications Department