Lionel Messi, whose contract with Paris St. Germain is coming to an end this month, announced that he would join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.

Choosing Miami over Saudi Arabia and Barcelona

The 35-year-old Argentina forward had been strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, to join a league that already features Cristiano Ronaldo and now Karim Benzema. However, with Messi’s two-year contract at Paris St Germain coming to an end this month, the World Cup winner confirmed in a joint interview with Spanish publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport he was set to head to the United States.

“I made the decision that I am going to go to Miami,” Messi said. “I still haven’t closed it 100%. I’m missing some things, but we decided to continue on the path.”

MLS franchise Miami are co-owned by former England captain David Beckham. The Florida side recently sacked Beckham’s former Manchester United and England team-mate Phil Neville as coach and are currently bottom of the 15-team Eastern Conference, but remain a fiercely ambitious club.

Messi had also been linked with a move back to his former club Barcelona, but confirmed when that was not set to go through, he opted for a fresh challenge in the USA.

Leaving Europe and Seeking Peace of Mind

“If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more in my family,” he said. “I really wanted, I was very excited to be able to return (to Barcelona), but after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again – waiting to see what was going to happen.

“I heard that they had to sell players or lower players’ salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, nor take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that.”

Future Plans and Contributions to Barcelona

Despite not making a return to Barcelona as a player, Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, intends to eventually settle back in the city with his family.

“Obviously I would like to be close to the club (in the future). What’s more, I’m going to live in Barcelona,” he said. “It is one of the things that we have very clear with my wife, my children.

“Hopefully, I don’t know when, but one day I can contribute something to the club and help because it is a club that I love as I always said.

Welcoming Messi to Major League Soccer

PSG announced last week that Messi would be leaving and he had reportedly been offered a deal worth 400m euros (£343.5m) per year to move to Saudi Arabia. Major League Soccer welcomed Messi’s decision.

“We are pleased that Lionel Messi has stated that he intends to join Inter Miami and Major League Soccer this summer,” a statement from the organization read.

“Although work remains to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time to our league.”