Lionel Messi heading to Inter Miami: reports
Lionel Messi during a match between Paris Saint-Germain and Clermont at the Parc des Princes in Paris, on June 3, 2023. (Michel Euler / AP)
Global soccer icon Lionel Messi is planning to sign with Inter Miami CF, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.
The star of Argentina's 2022 World Cup championship reportedly is opting to join the MLS ranks over returning to Barcelona or accepting a lucrative offer to play in Saudi Arabia.
Messi, who turns 36 on June 24, officially becomes a free agent when his contract at France's Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of this month.
He could make his debut for Miami in July or August, per the reports.
Financial problems at Barcelona reportedly quashed Messi's desire to reunite with the Spanish La Liga club, where he gained worldwide fame from 2004-21.
Saudi Arabia offered a reported US$400 million a year to play at Al-Hilal, which would allow him to renew a rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo although in a vastly diminished spotlight from the European soccer scene.
Messi owns property in Miami and has said many times over the past year that he would like to play in the United States.
Terms of an agreement with Inter Miami are unclear at this point, although Messi would almost certainly raise the bar for the highest salary in MLS history. Toronto FC is paying Lorenzo Insigne a record $14 million.
Inter Miami also could offer him a minority stake in the club, which is owned by billionaire businessman Jorge Mas and his brother, Jose, and retired soccer great David Beckham.
As for the MLS, Messi's arrival would mark the league's biggest splash signing since Beckham joined the LA Galaxy in 2007.
MLS commissioner Don Garber told The Athletic in March that bringing Messi to the United States would be a boon for the league.
"You're dealing with perhaps the most special player in the history of the game," Garber said of Messi. "So when there are rumors of him connected to Miami, that's great. And if it could happen, it would be terrific for MLS, it would be terrific for Messi and his family, and like everything with us, we try to run every opportunity down."
Inter Miami (5-11-0) currently sit last in the Eastern Conference with 15 points. Only New York City FC have scored fewer goals (11) in the East than Miami (15).
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with events across country
Seas of orange flooded events across the country on Saturday as Canadians gathered to acknowledge systemic oppression of Indigenous people and observe the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Nearly half of Canadians have no plans to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
A new survey found that 48 per cent of Canadians say they won’t be taking any specific action to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Jury acquits delivery driver of main charge in shooting of YouTube prankster
A jury on Thursday found a delivery driver not guilty in the shooting of a YouTube prankster who followed him around a mall food court earlier this year.
W5
W5 Ferraris worth nearly $1M seized from Edmonton men linked to Pivot Airlines drug-smuggling scandal
Two Edmonton men at the centre of an international cocaine-trafficking scandal that led to the detainment of a Canadian airline crew in the Dominican Republic last year are back in the spotlight. They're facing numerous charges after police seized a pair of stolen Ferraris worth roughly $1 million.
U.S. government shutdown threat eases after House passes a 45-day funding plan, sending it to Senate
The threat of a federal government shutdown was suddenly easing Saturday after the House quickly approved a 45-day funding bill to keep agencies open, once Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage.
Scientist rediscover bat that hasn't been seen in 100 years
After first being captured over a century ago, scientists have re-discovered a species of bat that hasn't been seen since 1916.
'Reconciliation is a lifelong experience': Gov. Gen. Mary Simon reflects on Truth and Reconciliation
On the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says that while she acknowledges the time it takes to fulfill calls to action, she also understands the frustrations that progress is too slow, and she feels 'we should speed things up.'
Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh's people have left, Armenia's government says
An ethnic Armenian exodus has nearly emptied Nagorno-Karabakh of residents since Azerbaijan attacked and ordered the breakaway region's militants to disarm, the Armenian government said Saturday.
Putin marks anniversary of annexation of Ukrainian regions as drones attack overnight
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday insisted that the residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed a year ago 'made their choice -- to be with their Fatherland.'
Politics
-
Defence minister insists $1B spending reduction is not a budget cut
The country's top soldier and outside experts say that finding almost $1 billion in savings in the Department of National Defence budget will affect the Armed Forces' capabilities, although the defence minister insisted Friday the budget is not being cut.
-
Mandatory security awareness training among changes since arrest of employee: RCMP
The RCMP says it has introduced mandatory security awareness training for employees, one of several changes prompted by the 2019 arrest of a senior civilian member for allegedly leaking classified information.
-
'Reconciliation is a lifelong experience': Gov. Gen. Mary Simon reflects on Truth and Reconciliation
On the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says that while she acknowledges the time it takes to fulfill calls to action, she also understands the frustrations that progress is too slow, and she feels 'we should speed things up.'
Health
-
Federal Court ruling sets back health workers seeking psilocybin mushroom access
Megan McLaren thought her future career was in law enforcement, but her path radically shifted thanks in part to psychedelic drug therapy, she says.
-
Walking just this much more per day can lower your blood pressure: study
A new study finds walking an additional 3,000 steps per day can significantly reduce high blood pressure in older adults with hypertension.
-
Food insecurity among Indigenous kids is a 'public health crisis,' doctors say
Rising food prices have put 'an even bigger burden on families who were struggling before,' said the doctor, who is a member of Lax Kw'alaams First Nation on her father's side and Metis on her mother's side.
Sci-Tech
-
Scientists have observed antimatter free-falling due to gravity for the first time
For the first time, an international team of scientists have directly observed that antimatter – the mysterious counterpart to ordinary matter – free-falls under gravity, answering a question which has been the subject of endless speculation among the scientific community.
-
Man arrested in killing of Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere was released from prison in 2022
The man arrested Thursday in the killing of a Baltimore tech entrepreneur was released from prison last year after serving a shortened sentence for a 2013 rape and was suspected in another rape days before the slaying last week, police said.
-
Endangered red wolf can make it in the wild, but not without `significant' help, study says
The endangered red wolf can survive in the wild, but only with "significant additional management intervention," according to a long-awaited population viability analysis released Friday.
Entertainment
-
An arrest has been made in Tupac Shakur's killing. Here's what we know about the case and the rapper
An arrest has been made in Tupac Shakur's killing, here's what to know about one of the most infamous fatal shootings in hip-hop history.
-
U2 concert uses stunning visuals to open massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas
It looked like a typical U2 outdoor concert: Two helicopters zoomed through the starlit sky before producing spotlights over a Las Vegas desert and frontman Bono, who kneeled to ground while singing the band's 2004 hit "Vertigo."
-
As China censors homegrown feminism, a feminist scholar from Japan is on its bestseller lists
In the last few years, China's government has promoted increasingly conservative social values, encouraging women to focus on raising children. It has cracked down on civil society movements and made laws to drive out foreign influence.
