After weeks of anticipation, Lionel Messi has finally signed with Inter Miami CF and was unveiled in front of his new home crowd in the rain at DRV PNK Stadium on Sunday night.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner revealed last month he would play in the U.S. for David Beckham’s MLS club, but the deal wasn’t finalized for weeks. Meanwhile, ticket prices for the squad’s upcoming games skyrocketed. Inter Miami, which currently sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, officially announced Messi’s signing Saturday and set a grand welcome for the 2022 World Cup champion.
Lionel Messi: ‘I really want to win’
There were no monumental predictions or proclamations from Lionel Messi, who during the presentation spoke for about two minutes in Spanish.
“I really want to start training, and competing,’’ Messi said. “I really want to win and for this club to keep growing. …
“Personally, I believe that my teammates are going to give everything to build this project and I am very happy to have chosen this city,’’ he said, “to have chosen this project and I have no doubt that we are going to have a great time and we are going to experience very nice things.”
The glitzy production included fireworks, a taped welcome that included Tom Brady, Steph Curry and a little more Messi.
He expressed gratitude for the people of Miami, and thousands of fans created a festive environment inside the team’s 18,000-seat home stadium and braved rain that delayed the event by two hours.
He also thanked the team’s owners, which includes David Beckham, “for this recognition, for making everything easy, and for making us feel at home.’’
Lionel Messi receives his No. 10 Inter Miami jersey
Lionel Messi was greeted by applause from fans in attendance at DRV PNK Stadium before receiving a pink Inter Miami jersey with his familiar No. 10 on the back.
Inter Miami co-owner: ‘This is holy water’
It was a rain-soaked unveiling at DRV PNK Stadium for the Lionel Messi unveiling, but one of the team owners put a positive spin on a wet weather.
“Tonight is a gift and a celebration to the city who opened its arms to my family and so many others seeking freedom … we’re doing this Miami style in the rain! This is holy water,” Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said to the crowd.
MLS commissioner: ‘A real testament to where MLS is’
MLS commissioner Don Garber was in attendance for the Lionel Messi ceremony. In an interview, Garber discussed what Messi’s decision to join Inter Miami means for the league.
“We want MLS to be a league of choice, a league of choice for players, for fans, for partners, and ultimately for investors. And when you have the best player of all time, making Major League Soccer, his league of choice, I think it’s a real testament to where MLS is and where it’s going in the years ahead,” Garber said.
In April, two months before Messi decided to go to Miami, Garber said that Messi “can be bigger than any athlete of any sport that has ever played here in the United States.”
When is Inter Miami CF unveiling Lionel Messi?
The MLS club was scheduled to host “La PresentaSÍon” on Sunday at DRV PNK Stadium, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
However, the team said there is a weather day that delayed the start. The event was pushed to 8 p.m. ET.
How to watch Inter Miami CF unveil Lionel Messi
The event will be livestreamed for free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Parts of the event will also be streamed live on Inter Miami’s Twitter, YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as the team’s website, MLS website and MLS Facebook.
Lionel Messi arrives for Inter Miami unveiling ceremony
Messi along with this family ― wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three sons ― have arrived at DRV PNK Stadium for “La PresentaSÍon”.
Inter Miami CF-Lionel Messi festivities
The event will be hosted by MLS Season Pass personalities Melissa Ortiz Venezuelan MLS reporter Tony Cherchi.
The night will be highlighted with speeches from Messi, Beckham and Inter Miami CF Managing Owner Jorge Mas. There will also be musical performances from Camilo, Ozuna and Argentine performers Paulo Londra and Tiago PZK.
Sergio Busquets joins Inter Miami
One of Lionel Messi’s teammates from FC Barcelona will join the soccer icon in Miami. Sergio Busquets announced on Sunday with he was signing with the MLS club.
Busquets arrived at Barcelona in 2005 and played 722 matches for the club, winning nine La Liga titles. Busquets also won the 2010 World Cup and 2012 UEFA European championship with Spain.
“This is a special and exciting opportunity that I’m very excited to take. I’m looking forward to this next step in my career with Inter Miami,” Busquets said in a statement. “I was impressed by the club when I came with Barcelona last year and now I’m happy and ready to represent the club myself. I can’t wait to help bring the success that this ambitious club strives for.”
A couple of days before being officially presented as an Inter Miami player, Lionel Messi hit up the store for a couple of things. The greatest soccer player of all time, a man idolized by literally billions who has fundamentally changed the game of soccer and how we look at it, is also a man who goes to Publix to buy Reese’s Puffs cereal.
– Jason Anderson, Pro Soccer Wire