One of the owners of Inter Miami, Jorge Mas, discusses the arrival of Lionel Messi at the club in an interview with El Pais.
Lionel Messi to Inter Miami, the major event in MLS is happening. It is expected to happen by the end of July. And Jorge Mas is delighted about it: “In 2019, we started thinking about how we could bring him to Miami, a global city that is thriving. We want people, when they think of football in the United States, to think of Miami.”
“It was more important to sell him on the idea of football in the United States. It is the largest commercial market on the planet. Messi can make the MLS one of the two or three biggest leagues in the world. In the history of sport, there have been two events here: the arrival of Pelé at the New York Cosmos and David Beckham’s arrival in Los Angeles in 2007. With Messi, it will elevate the league to another level. I think he comes wanting to leave his mark and he will be able to do so beyond football. When he retires, he will have a stake in the club.”
“There is a very important family element. Messi will be in his hemisphere, almost in the same time zone as in Rosario,” he says.
“The club’s supporters will multiply by five or ten.”
And Inter Miami will not stop there and will recruit players close to Messi. “For us, it was essential to surround Messi with players of his caliber. We have been talking to Busi for about a year. He will be very important in the dressing room […] We have talked to him (Jordi Alba), Luis Suárez is under contract, he has a clause, and I don’t know if a departure is possible. We have also talked to Di María, but it seems he is about to sign with another team. All announcements will be made before July 15.”
“I predict that the club’s supporters will multiply by five or ten in three years. The average American is interested in the best player in the world. Here, you see many supporters of the Premier League, La Liga, or the Mexican league, more than the MLS. There are fans of Manchester United, Madrid, Barça… That will change.”