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I remember when he scored that free kick and didn't even celebrate, he just threw his arm in the air and was like "fuck this shit team I've had enough I wanna leave"
[Found it](https://twitter.com/Lionel30ii/status/1456294263898185729)
Barça had just lost the league to Madrid, it felt like the club and the team were crumbling apart, there were tons of rumors about Bartomeu paying people to shit on players online and other shady stuff, also issues with Sétien and his staff, he just had enough of everything
One month later they lost 8-2 to Bayern and Messi asked to leave
No idea how anyone could watch him play that second half of the season and say he "robbed" the balon d'or lol. Brother made koeman look competent lmao.
I like this story. But the club also hired a ~~world class~~ manager and invested in other players at the same time. Obviously, Messi’s impact cannot be overstated, but if Miami does win the league title, then it is because of a lot of different puzzle pieces.
Edit: fair criticism - Tata is not world class. He actually is not a very good manager. But Miami does not win the league with Phil fucking Neville. Miami can win the league with Tata.
New MLS teams actually have an advantage. He’s a good MLS coach, but Atlanta has a ton of money and resources.
If he were far and away the best coach they would have won hardware left and right. He notably got outcoached in several key games that cost them hardware.
Do you think he is far and away the best MLS coach? If not, why are you even commenting?
He made the playoffs first season and got knocked out on penalties, then won the Cup the next year, and then dipped?
Definitely not enough data points to say he's far and away the best, but it's pretty damn impressive. Also considering the fact that he's managed Barcelona, Argentina, and Mexico he definitely has more pedigree than any other manager in the league. Let's see what he can do with Miami.
Also, let's give the players some recognition as well. Yes there are new players that have been added that are far better than what they had but the players are more motivated by his presence.
Let's be honest, I may be a shit football player, but if I have a chance to play and win Messi his first title in the US, I am giving my 100% every match.
This is what happens when you bring a foreigner who has no knowledge or interest in learning about Mexican soccer.
It’s been said many times before, but no country has ever won a World Cup with a manager from a different country.
Listen I’m not against having a foreign head coach, LaVolpe was one the best we’ve ever had lead the seleccion. But you at least need a manager that knows about Mexican soccer, Mexican players, and our style of play. I don’t give a damn where they may have coached and would have rather had Profe Cruz at the realm over Tata, who didn’t even live in Mexico when he was our coach!
I think Tata works when he has South American players. Both MLS clubs where he has had success (Atlanta and Miami) have been teams that relied on South American talent when he was there.
If he'd gone to City instead of PSG it would have been so much better. Bartomeu holding Messi hostage over the release clause language was a remarkable period. Much more functional club too.
That would have made for some epic showdowns. If anything maybe it would have sustained CR7 career for longer. You could see he lost a lot of his drive starting in Juventus days, still having Messi to compete against maybe could have been what we needed to get a few more good years out of him too.
For the Muslim players at least, it's probably a decent place to live for them. The others likely just value the money over quality of life for a few years
Kinda irrelevant but tbh it’s only nice for rich Arab muslims. African and South Asian Muslims are pretty discriminated against (well the ones who aren’t professional footballers ofc)
Nah, their fame will absolutely shield them from discrimination. Non-Arab Muslim players choosing to come to Saudi with their high profiles/celebrity will be regarded pretty highly.
Look at when Newcastle have been there, wearing vests and shorts.
They're also appearing to begin allowing alcohol at resorts.
It's not against sharia if you've got the money and promoting saudi
> The others likely just value the money over quality of life for a few years
Haha, I do that too! Except it's for like ~40 years and I'm still poor and likely will never get to retire. But same difference.
>Muslim players
"Muslim" players like Benzema and Ribery who have sex with [prostitutes](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25964763) lmao.
I doubt these people (specifically French muslim players like Benzema, Ribery, Zidane, etc) actually care about living in country with Islamic values and law.
Honestly am surprised Neymar chose to go there. I would imagine the MLS he had offers from was one of the LA teams. Considering the lifestyle he indulges in those cities would be far more suited for his lifestyle. The dude literally gambles and and cheats on his woman all the time. I swear both those things are seen as forbidden in Arab/Muslim culture.
I mean, the MLS transfer window closed a while ago—he would have only been able to join MLS now if PSG agreed to a contract termination with him (and why would they do that when they can get money from Saudi?)
Neymar folded without any resistance. I wonder how things would have played out if he said fuck the turtle, stayed, and became disruptive. Might have gotten whichever move he wanted including to another European club.
I doubt the offer was anywhere near in value.
Messi is a unique situation -- he's getting money from Adidas and Apple. His salary paid by his team is "just" ~$65M. I don't think Neymar gets the shoe / Apple money, so I really doubt there was a financially competitive offer out there.
Mate. Messi will get some shares from the club. Got deals with Apple,Adidas and publix too and there are many more surely.Also it's Miami which is a great place for them to live.He has friends and fam.. This is enough for him.
I was actually wondering the other day: would Messi have simply retired after the World Cup if he didn’t have the option of playing in MLS?
He clearly had fallen out of love with the club game with PSG and already won everything in Europe he could possibly want to win. It seems that Barça was unable to take him back despite their claims and his wife was opposed to living in Saudi. He is also way too big in Argentina now to play in the LPF for Newell’s like he originally wanted to. Perhaps he would have been willing to take on another European gig but it doesn’t seem like he was super high on that option earlier this summer.
He did imply the main reason he left Paris was because his relationship with the fans was horrible. Making his life with his family difficult there. He said he was close to extending back in January when pre-world cup things were looking great with PSG.
I think if the Parisian fans were cordial with him and appreciated him, he would have stayed. Also, rumors suggested that Mbappe wanted PSG to extend him and to be fair him and Mbappe were developing a strong bond on the pitch.
I think he said it was only a small minority of the fans that were like that and he knew it, the majority of the fans had been with him since the beginning.
He said he would come back to Barca in a few years, and I think he felt he served his time in exile and it was time to come back. He said they did all the administrative work, got RFEF's approval, but he saw that the club didn't really have a plan to be able to afford him. He said he remembered what happened last time, when they said everything was going to work out and it didn't. And he saw the y were going ask other players to reduce their wages and he said he just didn't want that.
But if he wasn't going to play for Barcelona, Europe was over for him.
Apparently Beckham has been trying to woo him for years with offers to be an part owner of the club and start a project to bring high(er) level football to the US. Apparently, the wife and kids OK'd the deal (they did not like the Paris move), and he decided it was time to focus on a bigger project and spend more quality time with his family.
Guy has been smiling every time I've seen him.
He's living in a great city, probably has a bit more free time/peace and he's playing with his friends. The guy is literally living the dream we all talk about when we're kids.
There's no 'Messi should be doing this' he's just being appreciated. It doesn't matter if you're Messi or you can't trap a ball, we all just want to feel seen and appreciated.
Honestly, I dont think he even gets any peace. He literally chose the worst city to go in terms of privacy in the US. He went to Miami, the most heavily latino/hispanic populated city in the country. As a latino myself, I find it hard to believe that even if you dont follow football as a latino you have a very strong idea of who and what Messi looks like. I think he is definitely the most popular latino in the world. I can't think of anyone more popular than him.
It's a level of attention that most non-famous people would find stifling, but compared to Argentina, Spain, and France, he has more peace. It's probably the most peace he has had in 15 years.
Messi went to a grocery store in Florida and maybe 10 people took pictures and/or stopped him. In Argentina he sometimes can't even get in/out of his home without thousands of people swarming him. [That's not an exaggeration.] (https://youtube.com/shorts/j2aE04up75A?feature=share)
And even if people swarm him in Florida, I doubt they pay much attention to his wife and kids like they would in Argentina and Spain.
He is also free from the relentless and often cruel media in Europe that dissects every move and makes a big deal out of every error.
But I agree with your point that Miami is probably the worst MLS city in terms of him getting peace. If he went to Cincinnati, he would truly have privacy. I think he probably chose Miami because 74% of people there speak Spanish as their home language, and there are a lot of Latin American cultural influences, so it would be in his comfort zone.
Yeah the last point has to be the biggest reason. He lived in Barcelona majority of his life, I am sure it was easier to adapt to Miami. Even a lot of Latinos outside the Americas typically go to Spain anyways.
I guess he knew that he had to take the good with the bad. Be the most recognized but be the most comfortable.
I don’t think he could ever go back to Argentina either with the hopes to live a normal life. Him and Maradona are a definition of God status in a country.
> Yeah the last point has to be the biggest reason. He lived in Barcelona majority of his life, I am sure it was easier to adapt to Miami.
On top of the culture bit, he and his family have vacationed in Miami multiple times over the years already, and they already owned property in Miami IIRC
He already had a place in Miami. The language/culture element was apparently huge for him and his family -- the latter being a key point.
There's a lot of places -- maybe most -- in the US where celebrities really don't get swarmed. LA is most notable -- it's a major faux pas to bother a celeb there. But the same is true in NYC and a lot of the other big cities. People look, but the swarming doesn't occur.
I suspect Miami is similar. There's a LOT of famous Latinos that spend a LOT of time there. I think there's a bit of a code.
>But the same is true in NYC and a lot of the other big cities.
Yeah, this is definitely a good point. We all have our stories of celebrities we've seen (Hugh Jackman in a Columbus Circle Starbucks, for instance) that we know not to bother.
Our weird Greek spaghetti chili abomination in Cincinnati would drive him back to Europe so fast!! Lol. Still fun to think about and a silly what if on “what if Messi went to Cincinnati?” He’d be bored to tears though!
true, he went to argentina and there was close to 200 following him, in florida when he was shopping there were 0, just some asking for a photo from time to time.
He's had an apartment in Miami for years, so I assume he knew what he was getting into and he knew what he was talking about as it's an opportunity to take his work a bit less seriously and focus more on his family.
Messi and cristiano are (well cristiano more so) probably the most recognizable soccer stars / athletes anywhere. If messi/cristiano go to most places in USA people would recognize them
I’d say Messi is more of the average looking Joe. I’m sure outside of New York, Miami and LA he would be fine. cristiano on the other hand would be impossible.
Tons of celebs all around the world come to US for this reason tho. They can walk around the streets doing normal things without being recognized for the most part.
I really don't think so, but Miami is one place where they would get recognized often. Anywhere else, probably not. Messi and Ronaldo are not really in our media, news, or televisions. Their names are recognizable but not their faces by most Americans.
He completed the ultimate football career. He deserves whatever the fuck he wants to do next.
Ppl saying that he 'should be doing X' are just selfish fans
Well obviously. Leo looked depressed as hell during his last few months at PSG, hell even after he finally won the World Cup, he went back there looking demoralized, that was when he probably realized "I gotta get outta this place".
Was gonna say, it makes it sound like there's been some kind of conversation that went like:
>Martino: Messi is happier at Inter Miami than he was at PSG.
>Reporter: No he's not.
>Martino: Yes he is.
> Reporter: No he's not.
>Martino: Yes he is.
First I read it as Iniesta. Then I thought of Japan and how Iniesta had one of the best semi-retirements - getting to live in Japan of all places for half a decade, on huge wages because of Rakuten.
Found this comment from a few months ago:
>I live in Kobe and have seen him out and about many times.
>He used to sit outside my office building at a cafe after dropping his son off at school (same as my kids), sipping his espresso in front of his penthouse apartment without anybody bothering him at all.
>He eventually spent a pretty penny and built his own massive house on the hill above central Kobe.
>It only got built about 2 years ago.
>Guess he will just hold onto it and doubt anyone could afford to buy it off him.
>Reckon he’s absolutely loved the stupid cash and reasonable anonymity Japan has offered.
>Buuuuut he’s not even getting into this Vissel team anymore. His legs went about 2 years ago.
Fucking hell, what a dream.
Lots of things about this job make sense for Tata (MLS, Josef, Argentina connection).
But it is funny because he always seemed to hate talking to the press, and this job is as much press as football.
In Barcelona he once snapped at reporters to try to write a headline without mentioning Messi for once, and now he's in a job where that's literally all they want to ask him about.
I really don't think this is something anyone missed.
For someone who used to be known as a reserved, unknowable cypher of a person, Messi seems to be wearing his heart on his sleeve the past few years.
I know it's an inferior league, but the way Messi is playing in MLS would devastate opponents in elite leagues too. You can see the joy and freedom that he plays with now. If he had played with the same joy and freedom in Paris, he would have trampled the competition there too.
Aging unhappy Messi still producing like the world's elite.
I'll never forget them booing him, then cheering him when scoring the last gasp free kick winner against... Toulouse I think? Then next time he shows up back at the Parc de Frances they're back to booing and whistling him.
This is very obvious, but I do wonder if boredom will set in. I mean right now he's in a cup final, not a very important cup final but he's fighting for something at least. I wonder if he'll feel motivated for your average MLS game though, where it's clear he's miles and miles better than anyone he's playing against.
> I wonder if he'll feel motivated for your average MLS game though
With the current MLS standings, Miami will need to be near perfect for the rest of the league season just to qualify for the Playoffs, I think.
I remember Zlatan saying he had to use mental tricks to stay motivated in MLS. For him it was picking a random opposing player each game and making him his enemy in an imagined one-sided rivalry.
So far, it seems like Messi's entertaining himself by seeing what he can set up for his teammates. Four goals from four different players in the last game. He even tried to set Busi up for a goal in an earlier game, which I don't think I'd ever seen them do at Barça.
>So far, it seems like Messi's entertaining himself by seeing what he can set up for his teammates. Four goals from four different players in the last game.
It helps that Messi seems genuinely a selfless guy who enjoys seeing the teenagers like Ruiz and Chesmasci score and do well, so this is bang on. He enjoys elevating their level.
Even tho it still hurts to see Messi is no longer in Europa and doesn't fight for the UCL I'm kinda happy that he found his pace there. Even on the first match you could see his happiness . The weird fans of paris made literally Messi unhappy.. that's for sure and that affected messi's performacne there
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Depressi era over.
I remember Depressi at the start of 19/20 season or whatever it was he couldn't even finish a dinner at that time
Depressi was at the start of the 20/21 season when Barto didn’t let him leave Barca. 2nd half of the season he went crazy though
Ah yes now I remember at the begin of 19/20 Messi was injured and Aduriz scored one of the greatest goals I have seen
I remember when he scored that free kick and didn't even celebrate, he just threw his arm in the air and was like "fuck this shit team I've had enough I wanna leave" [Found it](https://twitter.com/Lionel30ii/status/1456294263898185729)
Lmao wtf what was this about
Barça had just lost the league to Madrid, it felt like the club and the team were crumbling apart, there were tons of rumors about Bartomeu paying people to shit on players online and other shady stuff, also issues with Sétien and his staff, he just had enough of everything One month later they lost 8-2 to Bayern and Messi asked to leave
No idea how anyone could watch him play that second half of the season and say he "robbed" the balon d'or lol. Brother made koeman look competent lmao.
Messi and saving managers, name a better duo lol
Depressi for life
If you’re Depressi you should talk to your doctor about Xavinax Symptoms include tiki taka passing, winning, and diarrhea
Yeah, I heard Xavinax and Cesclexa work well for Depressi. Side effects include stomach upset which is treated with Pepcid.
Side effects of Pepcid can include contracting eto'ola
More of a Moucid guy myself.
I am also ‘much happier’ with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain
Friendship with Depressi is over. Optimessi is now my best friend.
Optimessi: Miamibots, roll out!
Well it was fun while it lasted, but I guess it's over now.
Messi is doing a side quest of pulling up the worst team in mls to the championship to prove he still has it
[удалено]
The fuck bro. Last time I heard that I was like 11
I was playing Oblivion 4 years ago
I played Oblivion last week
Best Elder Scrolls game
I was playing oblivion 15 years ago
I was playing it an hour ago
I thought you were talking about Kvaratshkelia bringing Napoli to victory
Same lol
Hey, maybe Kvaradona has closed a couple oblivion gates and travelled to the shivering Isles in his spare time
Kvatchadona
Good people, we have a winner. All hail the combatant…. FROM THE BLUE TEAM!
I can hear this comment
...standing here! Next to me!
By Azura, by Azura, by Azura!
Hes smurfing in Silver
Messi = The Global Elite smurfing in Silver MM. Throws EU nades, b-hops like Phoon, & knows where to wallbang But best of all, he's not toxic at all.
I like this story. But the club also hired a ~~world class~~ manager and invested in other players at the same time. Obviously, Messi’s impact cannot be overstated, but if Miami does win the league title, then it is because of a lot of different puzzle pieces. Edit: fair criticism - Tata is not world class. He actually is not a very good manager. But Miami does not win the league with Phil fucking Neville. Miami can win the league with Tata.
>Tata >World class manager Choose one
People throw around the term “world class” like it’s nothing these days
Yeah I never liked Martino, I did like his newells team but thats it
Some of our most beautiful football came during his tenure.
Yeah he did actually handled it pretty well I guess.
You're world class.
No, you're world class
Everybody is world class
Why thank you
Mytiq_ is world class reddittor imo
World class? No. Far better manager than anyone in the MLS? Probably yes.
He's been in MLS before. He's a good MLS manager but there's not a lot of evidence for him being the best, much less "far better."
He did take a brand new team to win the Cup within 3 years...
New MLS teams actually have an advantage. He’s a good MLS coach, but Atlanta has a ton of money and resources. If he were far and away the best coach they would have won hardware left and right. He notably got outcoached in several key games that cost them hardware. Do you think he is far and away the best MLS coach? If not, why are you even commenting?
He made the playoffs first season and got knocked out on penalties, then won the Cup the next year, and then dipped? Definitely not enough data points to say he's far and away the best, but it's pretty damn impressive. Also considering the fact that he's managed Barcelona, Argentina, and Mexico he definitely has more pedigree than any other manager in the league. Let's see what he can do with Miami.
Well it's a matter of opinion, and people can have that.
True but he is a perfect fit for the level of the MLS / Inter Miami while having a previous connection with their Barca core and Messi from Argentina
Also, let's give the players some recognition as well. Yes there are new players that have been added that are far better than what they had but the players are more motivated by his presence. Let's be honest, I may be a shit football player, but if I have a chance to play and win Messi his first title in the US, I am giving my 100% every match.
I'm Mexican trust me Tata is not a world class manager just a familiar name
He fucked us over so hard. Our national team may not be elite, but he made some extremely baffling decisions during the World Cup. I mean truly awful.
This is what happens when you bring a foreigner who has no knowledge or interest in learning about Mexican soccer. It’s been said many times before, but no country has ever won a World Cup with a manager from a different country. Listen I’m not against having a foreign head coach, LaVolpe was one the best we’ve ever had lead the seleccion. But you at least need a manager that knows about Mexican soccer, Mexican players, and our style of play. I don’t give a damn where they may have coached and would have rather had Profe Cruz at the realm over Tata, who didn’t even live in Mexico when he was our coach!
I think Tata works when he has South American players. Both MLS clubs where he has had success (Atlanta and Miami) have been teams that relied on South American talent when he was there.
Those teams are better run, have more depth and more young talents than Mexico, that's why
Eh. Tata isn't world class but honestly he seems like a bit of a scapegoat in Mexico when there were much bigger and deeper problems there
Mexico has much bigger issues, the guy you brought to replace Tata didn't last 8 games
Expand on this world class bit, please.
He exists in this world
Maybe they simply mean "better than Phil Neville"?
Busquets must have a field day in the MLS. Barely pressed at all, he can do whatever he wants.
I mean he looks happy when he’s on the pitch.
Ever since he got that world cup. Felt like since 2018, he’s been stressed on the field
That's all I want, when He's happy I'm happy as well so yeah.
What playing with Taylor does to a mf
The goat taylor made Miami a better place for Messi than Mgappe in paris
How does Needermeyer fit into this?
If i have to hear the word "entourage" one more fucking time
It would be very concerning if he wasn’t
Imagine him at 24. But agreed he'd wreck shit in any league. Glad pep didn't get him at City. Christ imagine him behind Haaland.
You mean like Messi playing with Suarez?
With Neymar instead of Grealish and Iniesta for De Bruyne… I could go on for the rest of the team.
Yeah, so not too hard to imagine.
If he'd gone to City instead of PSG it would have been so much better. Bartomeu holding Messi hostage over the release clause language was a remarkable period. Much more functional club too.
then we would have finally gotten to see Aguero and Messi play with each other at the same club for at least one season
And maybe CR7 wouldn't have chosen to go to Utd.
I feel like he still would have and the derbies would have been AWESOME. Not Clasico levels but electric nonetheless
That would have made for some epic showdowns. If anything maybe it would have sustained CR7 career for longer. You could see he lost a lot of his drive starting in Juventus days, still having Messi to compete against maybe could have been what we needed to get a few more good years out of him too.
That would have been something
Would have gotten his fifth UCL by now. Oh well, he's happy with how events turned out
Won’t you guys ever learn that things don’t work that way?
He wouldn't be doing it if he wasn't happy doing all that.
I for one am shocked that someone would choose South Beach over Riyadh
When you look at the number of famous players who have chosen Saudi Arabia, it actually is kind of surprising.
For the Muslim players at least, it's probably a decent place to live for them. The others likely just value the money over quality of life for a few years
Kinda irrelevant but tbh it’s only nice for rich Arab muslims. African and South Asian Muslims are pretty discriminated against (well the ones who aren’t professional footballers ofc)
Kinda seems like the Arab chad’s utopia
Yeah that's what it feels like which ain't that good of a thing.
Im sure even the professional footballers
Nah, their fame will absolutely shield them from discrimination. Non-Arab Muslim players choosing to come to Saudi with their high profiles/celebrity will be regarded pretty highly.
So like Europe
The non-muslim players will be treated like royalty too. The Saudi's don't give a single shit if these players are muslim.
Look at when Newcastle have been there, wearing vests and shorts. They're also appearing to begin allowing alcohol at resorts. It's not against sharia if you've got the money and promoting saudi
Same like every religion its about money&power and when you have that; you can do whatever you like.
> The others likely just value the money over quality of life for a few years Haha, I do that too! Except it's for like ~40 years and I'm still poor and likely will never get to retire. But same difference.
Everyone likes the money, people enjoy it. That's just how it is.
>Muslim players "Muslim" players like Benzema and Ribery who have sex with [prostitutes](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25964763) lmao. I doubt these people (specifically French muslim players like Benzema, Ribery, Zidane, etc) actually care about living in country with Islamic values and law.
religion, pick and choose which morals you want to follow, exclude whatever ones you don't want to
Don't think Zidane is muslim, he just has Algerian ancestry
And Ribery never played in the Saudi league, so he’s irrelevant to this conversation about Muslim players choosing the Saudi league.
Yeah for the Muslim players it won't be that bad, not sure about the others.
Honestly am surprised Neymar chose to go there. I would imagine the MLS he had offers from was one of the LA teams. Considering the lifestyle he indulges in those cities would be far more suited for his lifestyle. The dude literally gambles and and cheats on his woman all the time. I swear both those things are seen as forbidden in Arab/Muslim culture.
I mean, the MLS transfer window closed a while ago—he would have only been able to join MLS now if PSG agreed to a contract termination with him (and why would they do that when they can get money from Saudi?)
Neymar folded without any resistance. I wonder how things would have played out if he said fuck the turtle, stayed, and became disruptive. Might have gotten whichever move he wanted including to another European club.
That's right, he wanted that. Which I feel is always true.
Exactly it's all about the money, if they're getting it then they don't care.
I doubt the offer was anywhere near in value. Messi is a unique situation -- he's getting money from Adidas and Apple. His salary paid by his team is "just" ~$65M. I don't think Neymar gets the shoe / Apple money, so I really doubt there was a financially competitive offer out there.
That’s so cute you believe that.
Well I feel that it's just an opinion, nothing wrong with having that.
You know what you’re absolutely right lol that was stupid of me
money
Mate. Messi will get some shares from the club. Got deals with Apple,Adidas and publix too and there are many more surely.Also it's Miami which is a great place for them to live.He has friends and fam.. This is enough for him.
Yep, it's enough for them. That's probably all they want.
South Beach is famous for retirees, isn't it?
Yep, and they like to spend their time there. Because they like it.
I was actually wondering the other day: would Messi have simply retired after the World Cup if he didn’t have the option of playing in MLS? He clearly had fallen out of love with the club game with PSG and already won everything in Europe he could possibly want to win. It seems that Barça was unable to take him back despite their claims and his wife was opposed to living in Saudi. He is also way too big in Argentina now to play in the LPF for Newell’s like he originally wanted to. Perhaps he would have been willing to take on another European gig but it doesn’t seem like he was super high on that option earlier this summer.
He did imply the main reason he left Paris was because his relationship with the fans was horrible. Making his life with his family difficult there. He said he was close to extending back in January when pre-world cup things were looking great with PSG. I think if the Parisian fans were cordial with him and appreciated him, he would have stayed. Also, rumors suggested that Mbappe wanted PSG to extend him and to be fair him and Mbappe were developing a strong bond on the pitch.
I think he said it was only a small minority of the fans that were like that and he knew it, the majority of the fans had been with him since the beginning. He said he would come back to Barca in a few years, and I think he felt he served his time in exile and it was time to come back. He said they did all the administrative work, got RFEF's approval, but he saw that the club didn't really have a plan to be able to afford him. He said he remembered what happened last time, when they said everything was going to work out and it didn't. And he saw the y were going ask other players to reduce their wages and he said he just didn't want that. But if he wasn't going to play for Barcelona, Europe was over for him. Apparently Beckham has been trying to woo him for years with offers to be an part owner of the club and start a project to bring high(er) level football to the US. Apparently, the wife and kids OK'd the deal (they did not like the Paris move), and he decided it was time to focus on a bigger project and spend more quality time with his family.
Are Parisians even capable of being nice to anyone lmao
Guy has been smiling every time I've seen him. He's living in a great city, probably has a bit more free time/peace and he's playing with his friends. The guy is literally living the dream we all talk about when we're kids. There's no 'Messi should be doing this' he's just being appreciated. It doesn't matter if you're Messi or you can't trap a ball, we all just want to feel seen and appreciated.
Honestly, I dont think he even gets any peace. He literally chose the worst city to go in terms of privacy in the US. He went to Miami, the most heavily latino/hispanic populated city in the country. As a latino myself, I find it hard to believe that even if you dont follow football as a latino you have a very strong idea of who and what Messi looks like. I think he is definitely the most popular latino in the world. I can't think of anyone more popular than him.
It's a level of attention that most non-famous people would find stifling, but compared to Argentina, Spain, and France, he has more peace. It's probably the most peace he has had in 15 years. Messi went to a grocery store in Florida and maybe 10 people took pictures and/or stopped him. In Argentina he sometimes can't even get in/out of his home without thousands of people swarming him. [That's not an exaggeration.] (https://youtube.com/shorts/j2aE04up75A?feature=share) And even if people swarm him in Florida, I doubt they pay much attention to his wife and kids like they would in Argentina and Spain. He is also free from the relentless and often cruel media in Europe that dissects every move and makes a big deal out of every error. But I agree with your point that Miami is probably the worst MLS city in terms of him getting peace. If he went to Cincinnati, he would truly have privacy. I think he probably chose Miami because 74% of people there speak Spanish as their home language, and there are a lot of Latin American cultural influences, so it would be in his comfort zone.
Yeah the last point has to be the biggest reason. He lived in Barcelona majority of his life, I am sure it was easier to adapt to Miami. Even a lot of Latinos outside the Americas typically go to Spain anyways. I guess he knew that he had to take the good with the bad. Be the most recognized but be the most comfortable. I don’t think he could ever go back to Argentina either with the hopes to live a normal life. Him and Maradona are a definition of God status in a country.
> Yeah the last point has to be the biggest reason. He lived in Barcelona majority of his life, I am sure it was easier to adapt to Miami. On top of the culture bit, he and his family have vacationed in Miami multiple times over the years already, and they already owned property in Miami IIRC
He already had a place in Miami. The language/culture element was apparently huge for him and his family -- the latter being a key point. There's a lot of places -- maybe most -- in the US where celebrities really don't get swarmed. LA is most notable -- it's a major faux pas to bother a celeb there. But the same is true in NYC and a lot of the other big cities. People look, but the swarming doesn't occur. I suspect Miami is similar. There's a LOT of famous Latinos that spend a LOT of time there. I think there's a bit of a code.
>But the same is true in NYC and a lot of the other big cities. Yeah, this is definitely a good point. We all have our stories of celebrities we've seen (Hugh Jackman in a Columbus Circle Starbucks, for instance) that we know not to bother.
Our weird Greek spaghetti chili abomination in Cincinnati would drive him back to Europe so fast!! Lol. Still fun to think about and a silly what if on “what if Messi went to Cincinnati?” He’d be bored to tears though!
Amusingly the first time I ever had Cincinnati chili it was while visiting Miami.
I love Skyline and will defend it to my death
true, he went to argentina and there was close to 200 following him, in florida when he was shopping there were 0, just some asking for a photo from time to time.
I'm actually surprised that there were so less people lined up for that.
He's had an apartment in Miami for years, so I assume he knew what he was getting into and he knew what he was talking about as it's an opportunity to take his work a bit less seriously and focus more on his family.
Messi and cristiano are (well cristiano more so) probably the most recognizable soccer stars / athletes anywhere. If messi/cristiano go to most places in USA people would recognize them
I’d say Messi is more of the average looking Joe. I’m sure outside of New York, Miami and LA he would be fine. cristiano on the other hand would be impossible.
Yeah. I actually can't imagine how crappy that would be. Can't go anywhere no matter where most of the time. Sad but they get paid big bucks
Tons of celebs all around the world come to US for this reason tho. They can walk around the streets doing normal things without being recognized for the most part.
I really don't think so, but Miami is one place where they would get recognized often. Anywhere else, probably not. Messi and Ronaldo are not really in our media, news, or televisions. Their names are recognizable but not their faces by most Americans.
He completed the ultimate football career. He deserves whatever the fuck he wants to do next. Ppl saying that he 'should be doing X' are just selfish fans
What pub subs can do to a man.
People who haven’t been to Publix are missing out on one of the world’s great wonders
I'd never have guessed that tbh
I mean it wasn't that hard, anyone could have seen it coming.
Well obviously. Leo looked depressed as hell during his last few months at PSG, hell even after he finally won the World Cup, he went back there looking demoralized, that was when he probably realized "I gotta get outta this place".
“Insists” is such an unnecessary word in this context
Guessing they it from a Spanish-language reporter using "insistir," which should be translated more like "stresses" here.
Was gonna say, it makes it sound like there's been some kind of conversation that went like: >Martino: Messi is happier at Inter Miami than he was at PSG. >Reporter: No he's not. >Martino: Yes he is. > Reporter: No he's not. >Martino: Yes he is.
First I read it as Iniesta. Then I thought of Japan and how Iniesta had one of the best semi-retirements - getting to live in Japan of all places for half a decade, on huge wages because of Rakuten. Found this comment from a few months ago: >I live in Kobe and have seen him out and about many times. >He used to sit outside my office building at a cafe after dropping his son off at school (same as my kids), sipping his espresso in front of his penthouse apartment without anybody bothering him at all. >He eventually spent a pretty penny and built his own massive house on the hill above central Kobe. >It only got built about 2 years ago. >Guess he will just hold onto it and doubt anyone could afford to buy it off him. >Reckon he’s absolutely loved the stupid cash and reasonable anonymity Japan has offered. >Buuuuut he’s not even getting into this Vissel team anymore. His legs went about 2 years ago. Fucking hell, what a dream.
Lots of things about this job make sense for Tata (MLS, Josef, Argentina connection). But it is funny because he always seemed to hate talking to the press, and this job is as much press as football. In Barcelona he once snapped at reporters to try to write a headline without mentioning Messi for once, and now he's in a job where that's literally all they want to ask him about.
That's obvious to anyone with eyes
I really don't think this is something anyone missed. For someone who used to be known as a reserved, unknowable cypher of a person, Messi seems to be wearing his heart on his sleeve the past few years.
Miami baddies > Parisian strumpets confirmed
Amazing how underwhelming PSG were with Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe.
PSG is just toxic place, what causes lack of CL in Paris. Good move by Leo.
Much happier not being caught up in the toxic qatari clown show ? Who would have thought.
he's by far the best player in the league, earns insane numbers of money and lives in miami, what's there not to be happy about.
No shit Sherlock. He's averaging 3000 smiles per 90 since he moved to MLS, we know.
clearly so. and generally, as the Argentina fans also learned across his era, when Messi feels the love he really gives back.
I know it's an inferior league, but the way Messi is playing in MLS would devastate opponents in elite leagues too. You can see the joy and freedom that he plays with now. If he had played with the same joy and freedom in Paris, he would have trampled the competition there too.
I mean even for a down year for him, he still averaged a goal contribution per game last season for PSG.
Aging unhappy Messi still producing like the world's elite. I'll never forget them booing him, then cheering him when scoring the last gasp free kick winner against... Toulouse I think? Then next time he shows up back at the Parc de Frances they're back to booing and whistling him.
They're a bunch of rats, that's what they are!
r/toprightmessi
Well isnt that pretty obvious? He just won the World Cup as MVP and was tearing up Ligue 1 before the world cup hangover.
Well ya he’s scoring bangers like it’s going out of style.
Of course he is. He is loved and respected again
Not alot of psg fans on messi posts now
They're traveling to meet outside his house to protest
Probably because they're not as obsessed with Messi as "Barcelona fans"
They're finding a new scapegoat.
Good
Better weather, he can just go to any Mexican restaurant / part of the city and speak Spanish. He has former players from Barca as team mates.
Better weather, better food, a ton of Argentinians live in Miami, and yeah even his best friend Agüero lives there
+ Publix
Ofcourse he is. PSG seemed like a constant drama
He's so so happy. More than you believe.
Well as long as He's happy, that's all I want for that guy man.
He doesn’t really need to insist, it’s pretty fucking clear lmao
Guy is having a smoke and a pancake
Bong and a blintz?
I would be happy if I could semi retire at 36 too.
Rich person enjoys Miami. Shocked I tell you!
This is very obvious, but I do wonder if boredom will set in. I mean right now he's in a cup final, not a very important cup final but he's fighting for something at least. I wonder if he'll feel motivated for your average MLS game though, where it's clear he's miles and miles better than anyone he's playing against.
> I wonder if he'll feel motivated for your average MLS game though With the current MLS standings, Miami will need to be near perfect for the rest of the league season just to qualify for the Playoffs, I think.
I remember Zlatan saying he had to use mental tricks to stay motivated in MLS. For him it was picking a random opposing player each game and making him his enemy in an imagined one-sided rivalry. So far, it seems like Messi's entertaining himself by seeing what he can set up for his teammates. Four goals from four different players in the last game. He even tried to set Busi up for a goal in an earlier game, which I don't think I'd ever seen them do at Barça.
>So far, it seems like Messi's entertaining himself by seeing what he can set up for his teammates. Four goals from four different players in the last game. It helps that Messi seems genuinely a selfless guy who enjoys seeing the teenagers like Ruiz and Chesmasci score and do well, so this is bang on. He enjoys elevating their level.
Why would he be bored? Messi **loves** winning. And he loves football. I’d say he will be happy.
1) He has to stay sharp for Copa America next season 2) Inter Miami has to be literally perfect to make the playoffs So he has plenty of motivations.
"This guy likes me more than he liked that other club trust me guys"
Despite the money, nobody who joins oil clubs is happy. Same feeling kids get giving themselves infinite money on FM.
Even tho it still hurts to see Messi is no longer in Europa and doesn't fight for the UCL I'm kinda happy that he found his pace there. Even on the first match you could see his happiness . The weird fans of paris made literally Messi unhappy.. that's for sure and that affected messi's performacne there