The offer for Messi would have made him even more expensive than Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 900 goals and is now a Riyadh icon. However, Messi has chosen to soak up the Florida sunshine at Inter Miami.
The 37-year-old Argentine dealt a blow to the Gulf state by rejecting an offer to move to Al-Hilal (the Saudi club turned to Neymar a month later). Messi, meanwhile, has chosen to follow in the footsteps of David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and head to the United States.
Beckham’s plans to expand the squad were approved in 2017, and in 2023, Inter Miami staged a coup by handing world superstar Leo Messi a huge contract. A lucrative one as one would expect, it would see Messi earn a basic salary of an estimated £9m. It also included a number of other perks that made the deal more appealing, according to the Express, and may have been the reason he turned down the Saudi money.
The football legend will earn over £800m a year if he decides to move to the Middle East. It seems likely that he will sign the incredible deal, especially after his former club PSG (owned by Qatari government-backed Qatar Sports Investments) suspended M10 for missing a training session to fly to Saudi Arabia.
However, Al-Hilal was left stunned when the deal was rejected and a reunion of former Barcelona players took place at Inter Miami instead, with Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez all leaving their clubs to join Messi on the East Coast.
Details as to why such a lucrative offer was rejected remain a mystery, but speculation suggests that the lucrative package included in Messi’s MLS contract may have influenced his decision.
The Argentine wizard’s current deal, which runs until 2025, will see him earn a reported £15.5m, including a basic salary and an ownership stake in the Miami-based club. This is sweetened by additional deals with Apple – who broadcast MLS games – and Adidas, potentially pushing M10’s earnings over two and a half years to more than £110m a year.
Despite this deal, Messi could have pocketed a lot more had he chosen Al-Hilal. So it seems money was not a factor behind his choice, although of course it had some influence. But remember, when you have so much money, signing a ‘slightly’ cheaper deal is not a big deal.
Messi’s moral standing in the eyes of the oil-rich nation is no small matter, with his ongoing three-year deal with the Saudi Arabian Tourism Authority worth £19m. But the real reason for Messi’s decision emerged when he spoke to Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
“At that time, I was at a point where I wanted to get away from the spotlight a little bit, to think more about my family,” Messi revealed. “I had two years of lack of interest on a personal level, so I wasn’t enjoying myself.
“I had a great month because I won the World Cup, but apart from that month it was a difficult period for me. I want to rediscover joy, enjoy my family, my children, my daily life.”
The Messi family has always loved the beachside charm and lifestyle of Miami. Even without moving to the Middle East, Messi will continue to be an ambassador for the Gulf state, while also catering to the needs of his wife and three sons, while still tapping the American market for Riyadh.
