Star football player Lionel Messi is set to cash in a whopping fortune at his new club Inter Miami. Messi has joined the Major League Soccer (MLS) club for a 2.5 year deal which will see him make a whopping $50-60 million per year. The total value of Messi’s contract is between $125 million and $150 million in cash alone. At current exchange rates, this means that Messi’s payout will reach at least Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,200 crore in cash alone over two and a half seasons.
Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer of all time, has joined the fledgling US football club officially. Most elite footballers in the twilights of their career have been heading to cash-rich Saudi clubs in a transfer pattern led by Messi’s nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the Argentine World Cup winner decided to head west instead of east to join the promising American league where football is called soccer.
Messi’s new club Inter Miami is partially owned by football great and one of the world’s most recognisable faces in David Beckham. Inter Miami has been planning a move for Messi and pursuing him for years. His contract with the MLS side became official on Saturday after over a month since the shock move was announced. The four-time Champions League winner will be introduced to Inter Miami fans on July 16 at the club’s Fort Lauderdale stadium.
The former Barcelona and PSG star arrived in the US this week and could feature for his new club as early as Friday against Cruz Azul. While Messi is considered the best player to set foot on the football pitch, Inter Miami is a club no match for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner’s stature. It stands at the bottom spot in the MLS's Eastern Conference. The club is just 4 seasons old and its home stadium is a temporary one with seating for just 22,000 people thanks to some frantic extensions.
(Inputs from PTI)
