On June 7, Lionel Messi announced that he would be signing with the MLS' Inter Miami. It came as a shock to many pundits, many of whom expected Messi to sign with Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia or Barcelona of Spain. "I have made the decision that I am going to Miami. I still don't have it agreed upon 100 percent and a few things are needed, but, well, we decided to continue my path there," Messi said. "After winning the World Cup and not being able to return to Barcelona, it was my turn to go to the league of the United States to live football in another way and to enjoy the day-to-day more. Obviously, with the same responsibility and desire to play well and do things well as always. But in a calmer way."
Messi immediately becomes the biggest signing in the history of the MLS. Furthermore, Messi could make his debut as soon as next month, as his contract with PSG expires at the end of June. However, it's unclear how much an impact of Messi will have. Inter Miami are currently in last place in the Eastern Conference. At the time of writing, Inter Miami has 15 points from 16 games. Furthermore, they are on a five-game losing streak.
Messi News Leads To A LeBron Meme
As the news broke, non-soccer fans took to Twitter to look for an explanation for the wider implications and context. Many of the people asking were NBA fans, likely unaware of the stature of the MLS. This led to one phrase being repeated over and over - "Lebron James joining the Shanghai Sharks."
The Chinese Basketball Association has developed some truly great talent such as Yao Ming. However, in comparison to the NBA, it's a very fair comparison to the Messi-Inter Milan move. While both Messi and LeBron are getting on in years, they are both still elite athletes. However, the choice for Messi to head to the US truly indicates that his career is winding down. For what it's worth, there are currently three American players on the roster. The most notable of these three is Eric Bledsoe, who was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team in 2019. But it's nice to see some inter-sport cooperation amongst fans.
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