Lionel Messi joins Inter Miami CF as a Designated Player
Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami CF officially signed Argentina forward Lionel Messi, a Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup champion, as a Designated Player on a contract that ran to the end of the 2025 MLS season. The club presented him to the public on Sunday 16 July 2023 at its stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
A Designated Player is a roster mechanism in MLS that lets clubs pay higher salaries to top-tier players without breaking the league’s financial restrictions.
About Inter Miami CF
Inter Miami CF joined MLS for the 2020 season as its 25th club, after the club was announced in 2018. It is owned by a group of investors that includes two Miami businessmen, Jorge Mas and his brother José Mas, and David Beckham, the former professional player and global icon.
About Lionel Messi
In June 2023, Lionel Messi confirmed that he would leave Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The move to Inter Miami is the first time in his professional career that he has played for a club outside Europe.
In two seasons at PSG in France, Messi scored 32 goals and gave 35 assists in 75 appearances. In his final season he scored 16 league goals and added 16 league assists.
“I’m very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States,” said Messi. “This is a fantastic opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project. The idea is to work together to achieve the objectives we set, and I’m very eager to start helping here in my new home.”
Messi’s first match and transfer deal
Messi’s first match for Inter Miami was set for 21 July 2023: the club’s opening match of the Leagues Cup, against Cruz Azul. Reports put his deal at between $50 million and $60 million a year for two and a half seasons.
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