Messi’s New and Millionaire Life at Inter Miami: His Contract, His Salary and Everything It Includes

Leo Messi will cross the Atlantic after several decades of playing in Europe. The Argentine star will wear the jersey of Inter Miami and thus elude Barcelona, ​​who dreamed of the return of their lost son. His connection with PSG expires on June 30, and despite the sirens coming to him from Barcelona, ​​the meeting between his father Jorge Messi and Joan Laporta only ended the mystery of a possible return. Now his new adventure will be in Miami.

How many seasons are you signing the contract for?

The Argentinian striker ended nineteen years in European football to sign for three seasons with the team from Florida. The link includes an exit clause at the end of the first and second seasons.

What will your salary be?

The world champion with Argentina will bring in a juicy amount during his American adventure. According to The Athletic, your salary will come in different ways. In the absence of a signature on the contract, Messi will earn 50 million euros per season, with a percentage of income from the broadcast of matches, and a commission from the sale of team jerseys, signed by Adidas. Apple is the one that owns the audiovisual rights of the competition. In addition, the Argentine will have the option of buying a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise when he retires. All these clauses are similar to those signed by David Beckham in 2007 when he signed for the Los Angeles Galaxy, which later led him to be one of the founders of Inter Miami.

When will it debut?

The Argentine could make his debut for Inter Miami on July 21 in the new Liga Cup, an official tournament recognized by Concacaf that starts this year and pits MLS teams against those from Mexico’s Liga MX. The Florida team would face Cruz Azul. The announcement of La Pulgo’s arrival caused a frenzy in the United States, and ticket prices for a possible Messi debut have already skyrocketed on online sales platforms, over $9,000.

What league does Inter Miami play in?

The Florida team participates in the Major League Soccer (MLS) of the United States. The league divides the championship into two parts. First, the regular season is played, in which a total of 29 teams are divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences. At the end of this phase, the seven best placed from each group contest the playoffs. As a curiosity, it should be noted that there is no promotion or relegation system in MLS, it is closed. Although there are other categories and divisions, such as the championship, they do not give placement in the competition.

Who is the coach?

Inter Miami currently has Argentine Javier Morales as interim coach after Beckham decided to stay without Phil Neville. Despite this, various American media point out that the club is negotiating with Tata Martin to lead the team.

Is there a salary cap?

In 2007, MLS implemented the franchise player rule, better known as the Beckham Law, as it coincided with the arrival of the British footballer to the Galaxy. This formula makes it possible to avoid the competition’s salary cap — which is set at 5.2 million per franchise — and gives clubs the ability to sign three players outside the salary cap. In order to do this, the franchises have to pay some kind of luxury tax, which currently amounts to around 250,000 euros. The stated amount is distributed among the other MLS teams.

David Beckham and the president of Zaragoza, in front

Inter Miami is co-owned by former England captain David Beckham, who was one of the first major European stars to move to the United States to play in MLS, winning the League Cup twice with the Los Angeles Galaxy. But the club from Florida is still a newborn. It was founded in 2018 in the city of Fort Lauderdale, and since 2020 it has been competing in the MLS.

Next to Beckham is Jorge Mas. The majority shareholder of the club is a Cuban businessman who owns the construction and engineering company MasTec from Miami. Together with his brother José, they bought the club’s shares from Marcel Claure in 2021 and injected energy into the struggling entity. Jorge Mas is also the president of Real Zaragoza from June 2022.

With black, fuchsia and white as the colors that Inter Miami fans identify with, the team has played 16 MLS games this season, winning five and losing eleven, with no draws. They have 15 goals for and 21 against, and are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, as the third worst team in the league this season, just ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Colorado Rapids.

Its facilities, used by Barcelona last summer as well as Argentina’s World Cup preparation team in Qatar, are first class. The team has six fields with natural grass and another with artificial grass next to the stadium.

They play at the Drive Pink Stadium, which holds 19,000 spectators, but they are building a new stadium that is scheduled to open in 2024.

To date, Higuaín, Matuidi and Pozuelo are the three main figures who have worn the team’s shirt. The Argentine striker, formerly of Real Madrid, still holds the record for the franchise’s top scorer with 29 goals. Inter Miami also has a Spanish past, as they had Alejandro Pozuelo in their ranks until last summer.

In its short history, it had only three coaches: the Uruguayan Diego Alonso, Phil Neville and the current one, the Argentine Javier Morales, who was promoted from his branch after the dismissal of the Englishman.