Messi lands in Florida ahead of Inter Miami deal

Argentinian star Lionel Messi has landed in Florida ahead of putting the final touches on his move to US Major League Soccer [MLS] club Inter Miami.

Argentinian TV footage showed Messi, with members of his family, walking off a private jet at a small, executive airport adjacent to Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.

The World Cup winner is expected to put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal, reported to be worth $60 million a year, before being presented to fans at a stadium event on Sunday.

"We are happy with the decision we made. Prepared and eager to face the new challenge, the new change," Messi said in an interview with Argentinian TV show, "Llave a la eternidad", released on Tuesday.

"My mentality and my head are not going to change, and I am going to try, wherever I have to be, to give my best for myself and my new club and continue to perform at the highest level," he added.

Messi is the biggest name to ever move to MLS and the greatest player to head to the United States since Brazilian great Pele signed for the New York Cosmos in 1975.

Many other big football names have joined the MLS through the years, including Dutch legend Johan Cruyff in 1979, German Franz Beckenbauer in 1977, English David Beckham in 2007, French forward Thierry Henry in 2010, English forward Wayne Rooney in 2018, and Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2018.

Boosting MLS popularity

MLS hopes that Messi will massively increase the profile of the league and boost subscriptions to their streaming broadcast deal with Apple TV.

Ticket prices for games likely to involve Messi have already skyrocketed. Fans had begun to gather at the club's DRV PNK stadium early in the morning ahead of his expected arrival.

One of the supporters, Julio Iglesias, 42 said he founded the "Messias 305" fan group when he learned the Argentinian star was coming to Miami.

He didn't previously watch MLS games but said he now won't miss any Miami matches.

"For us, Messi coming means everything, wherever he goes there is always incredible happiness," he said, while standing by a banner declaring "We are waiting for you Messias".

World Cup fever

Messi's arrival will also add to the momentum around the sport ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States along with Canada and Mexico.

He is expected to be joined at the club by former Barcelona teammate Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, while ex-Argentina and Barcelona coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino recently took over as coach.

Messi is expected to make his debut for his new club in the July 21 Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Cruz Azul.

Miami are currently bottom of MLS's Eastern Conference with just five wins from 21 games and are ranked 28th out of the 29 teams in the league.

But the club are in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup, where they have been drawn against league-leaders FC Cincinnati.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has spent the last two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, after moving from Barcelona in 2021, where he spent the majority of his career.

Messi joined Barcelona's academy at 13 years old after leaving his homeland.

He became the Catalan club's greatest icon, scoring a record 672 goals in 778 games, winning 35 trophies, including four Champions League triumphs and 10 La Liga titles.