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Lionel Messi explains reason for not choosing much-anticipated Barcelona return in transfer decision.
Lionel Messi acknowledged that while he wanted to go back to Barcelona, he couldn’t subject the team to the same type of financial hardship that caused his original departure.
As he gets ready to depart Paris Saint-Germain, Messi has agreed to a transfer to MLS team Inter Miami. Many anticipated that the Argentina captain would return to his childhood club Barcelona this summer, but Messi stated he couldn’t put himself or Barcelona through that position again after leaving Camp Nou in 2021 since La Liga placed financial constraints on the team, making it impossible for them to pay to keep him.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, Messi said: “I wanted to return, I was very excited to be able to return, 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 and leaving my future in the hands of another.
“I wanted to make my own decision, thinking about myself, about my family. Although I heard that it was said that LaLiga had accepted everything and that everything was fine for him to return, there were still many other things that had to be done. I heard that they had to sell players or lower player salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, or take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that. I have already been accused of many things that were not true in my career at Barcelona and I was already a bit tired, I didn’t want to go through all that.
“Although I would have loved it, it couldn’t. I am also in a moment where I want to get out of focus a bit, think more about my family. As I was just saying, I spent two years at a family level that was so bad that I didn’t enjoy it. I had the month that was spectacular for me for having won the World Cup, but removing that was a difficult stage for me.”
Barcelona attempted to re-sign Messi, but they were again forced to cut their pay bill this summer, which made the transfer ultimately too challenging.
Messi’s transfer to Miami is a game-changer for American soccer and the MLS team as a whole, and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal also missed out on signing Messi despite a sizable bid.
As he added: “If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me. The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money.”
Messi has previously been revealed to be joining Inter Miami. In July, he may make his debut in the brand-new Leagues Cup competition. On July 21, Inter Miami is scheduled to meet Mexican team Cruz Azul.