Lionel Messi joined Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami in July 2023, following the end of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain and shortly after captaining Argentina to World Cup victory in Qatar in December 2022. The move was one of the most closely followed transfers in football history, drawing significant global attention to MLS.
Messi’s arrival in Miami came after a career built primarily at FC Barcelona, where he rose through the club’s La Masia academy before becoming one of the most decorated players in the sport’s history, followed by a two-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain. His move to MLS was widely framed in football media as a new, less conventional chapter for a player already regarded as one of the greatest to have played the game.