Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has arrived in the United States, with the MLS team set to unveil him officially on the weekend.
The plan is for Messi to be presented to fans on July 16, with a possible debut date set for July 21 when Miami face Mexican team Cruz Azul in he Leagues Cup. Messi's move is without a doubt the biggest thing to happen to MLS in history, other than David Beckham's groundbreaking move back in 2007.
Poetically it was Beckham's franchise that signed Messi, as the torch was passed on to perhaps the greatest player to ever live. Messi has also attracted some friends and former team-mates too, with Sergio Busquets also signed.
Recently released Barcelona defender Jordi Alba could also join them in MLS, with a deal said to be extremely close to completion. But Miami fans can now relax about Messi, as their dreams come true.
Messi is ready for his Miami chapter after leaving Paris Saint Germain, with the World Cup winner admitting he didn't enjoy time in France. Messi already has real estate in Florida and enjoys family holidays there, so the decision to join MLS made sense.
The 36-year-old has multiple offers from around the globe after his contract with PSG came to an end, including a world record attempt from Saudi Arabia. But Messi isn't influenced by just cash, and wants to do more.
Messi's last remaining goal in football was to win the World Cup, something he finally achieved in Qatar after trying his whole career. He now just wants to do what's best for his family after an unhappy time in Paris.
"There were two years when I wasn’t happy. I didn’t enjoy myself and that affected my family life," Messi said about his time in Paris. "I missed a lot of my kid’s school lives. In Barcelona I used to pick them up, here I did it a lot less.
"I did a lot less with them. That was part of the decision as well, to find myself with my family, with my sons, and to enjoy the day-to-day. I’ve had the luck of achieving everything in soccer and now things go a little further than sport, which I’m still interested in a lot, but even more the family aspect."
Messi has just come from a family holiday in the Bahamas, enjoying some deserved rest and recovery after a huge season both physically and mentally. He will be adored in MLS, and he's arrived at a good time with Miami deeply struggling in the Eastern Conference.
