Former Barcelona player Sergio Aguero explains the real reason why his best friend Lionel Messi opted to join Inter Miami over a move to Saudi Arabia.
In an interview, Aguero shared, “Well, I think that at the end of this stage, with the age that Leo and Cristiano are, and many players aged 32 and 33 maybe they are tired of so much demand to be at a high level, and I think that Leo opted for him and his family to be well and to be able to play as relaxed as possible.
“And in the other case if he had been playing in Europe, obviously that the requirement is different and so he can’t play his last years the way he wanted, which is to enjoy, right?”
Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal made one final offer to Lionel Messi, per @HelenaCondis:
3 years, $1.6 billion.
Messi chose Miami. pic.twitter.com/TvzRsAkXY6
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 7, 2023
He further added, “And obviously I think that between Miami and Arabia, I think he chose Miami for convenience. Miami is a nice place, there are lots of Latinos, and I think he also saw it from the family side, which I think they can fit quite well in Miami, and in Arabia it can be more complicated, right?
“I think he saw nothing more than that, and well after that it’s each one’s decisions, but Cristiano maybe he’s a different player than Leo and he has made a decision to go to Arabia for other reasons that he will surely know about, but in the end, after all, knowing Leo I know more or less which way he comes from, I don’t know Cristiano very well and I can’t say his reasons either, right?”
The World Cup winner signed for the MLS side Inter Miami amid rumors of him joining Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League.
Lionel Messi’s reason to leave Europe
The former PSG player surprised the world after he announced his decision to leave European soccer and join the American club Inter Miami. The player has now explained his reasons for opting to join the MLS side instead of his former club Barcelona.
Messi revealed, “If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, leave the spotlight, and focus more on my family.”
The former Barcelona player went on, “There were two years when I wasn’t happy. I didn’t enjoy myself and that affected my family life. I missed a lot of my kids’ school lives. In Barcelona I used to pick them up, here I did it a lot less. I did a lot less with them. That was part of the decision as well, to find myself with my family, with my sons, and to enjoy the day-to-day.
Messi ran straight to his family after scoring a 94th minute winner on his Inter Miami debut.
You love to see it. 🐐❤️ pic.twitter.com/n4pXfkJM9U
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) July 22, 2023
“I’ve had the luck of achieving everything in soccer and now things go a little further than sport, which I’m still interested in a lot, but even more the family aspect.”
The 36-year-old reportedly wanted a life away from the pressure of performing, thus, decided to join his new club. However, Inter Miami and Lionel Messi have been under media scrutiny since the player’s announcement to join them.
