Lionel Messi turned down a mind-boggling offer before signing for Inter Miami (Image: Getty)
Lionel Messi was reportedly subject to a £16-million-a-week contract offer from the Saudi Pro League when deciding his next move last summer. Such a salary would have dwarfed even that of current Riyadh poster boy Cristiano Ronaldo, but the great Argentinian opted for sunny Floridian shores.
The now 37-year-old Messi dealt a gut punch to the Gulf state when he snubbed a supposed move to Al-Hilal – who opted to sign his former Barcelona team-mate Neymar a month later – and followed in the footsteps of David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in heading stateside.
It was Beckham’s expansion team – approved in 2017 – Inter Miami, who were lucky enough to win the Messi sweepstakes, and his current contract, while as lucrative as can be expected netting him an estimated £9m base salary, contains plenty of other accompaniments that sweeten the deal.
The footballing icon was reportedly in line to receive over £800m-a-year should he have jetted off to the Middle East, however, and looked certain to sign at the dotted line. This came after his former club, PSG – owned by the Qatari-government-backed Qatar Sports Investments – suspended him for missing a training session to fly to Saudi Arabia.
However, they were rebuffed, and a small Blaugrana-tinted reunion occurred at Inter Miami instead in the wake of Messi’s arrival. Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Saurez all jumped ship and wound up on the East Coast.
Messi’s reasons for rejecting such an eye-watering offer are unknown. But, one may assume that perhaps all of the incentives that came part-in-parcel with his MLS deal might have turned his head.
Messi maintains a more than positive relationship with Saudi Arabia (Image: Getty)
It is reported that the contract, due to expire in 2025, nets the player a £15.5m compensation, including his base salary and an ownership stake within the Floridian outfit. It it bolstered by further endorsements from Apple – whose TV service streams MLS matches – and Adidas. In total, some estimate his two-and-a-half-year deal to be in excess of £110m.
Yet, this figure would have been far higher had he chosen to sign for Al-Hilal, and so perhaps any decision was made without finances in mind – or at least not at the forefront.
There can be no doubts about Messi’s ethical stance on the oil-rich country, either, as he is currently signed on to a three-year deal with Saudi’s Tourism Authority, netting him a tidy £19m over that period. Perhaps the biggest clue as to the snub then came when the legend spoke to Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
Messi may have made his MLS move as it better suited his family (Image: Getty)
“I’m at a point where I want to step out of the spotlight a bit, think more about my family,” Messi stated. “I had two years where I was so unhappy on a personal level that I didn’t enjoy it.
“I had that month that was spectacular for me because of winning the World Cup, but apart from that, it was a difficult period for me. I want to rediscover joy, enjoy my family, my children, the day-to-day.”
Messi’s family reportedly loves the lifestyle and seaside beauty of Miami. While a move to the Middle East could have earned the superstar a substantial amount more financially, he remains an ambassador for the Gulf state and has tapped into a US market for them whilst tending to the needs of his wife and three sons.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1945084/lionel-messi-mls-saudi-arabia-contract