Lionel Messi has now reportedly made a huge decision regarding where he will be playing next season.
Messi's future is one of the most highly anticipated decisions after it was confirmed he will be leaving Paris Saint-Germain this month.
Read: Barcelona's alternate plan for Messi 'revealed'
Just two years on from his shock FC Barcelona departure, the Argentine is once again on the move, and with no lack of potential suitors as three clubs have stated their claim, including the aforementioned Spanish giants.
United States outfit Inter Miami and Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al Hilal have maintained a strong interest in the 35-year-old, with both teams understood to have proposed lucrative deals to the player.
The MLS club co-owned by David Beckham is reportedly willing to pull out all the stops, with a source involved in the proposed deal revealing that the American top flight is planning to join forces with tech giant Apple and sports apparel brand adidas to incentivise the Messi deal even further, per The Athletic, with the Argentine getting a cut of the profits from those potential commercial partnerships.
The Saudi Pro League side, meanwhile, have reportedly offered the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner a jaw-dropping €500 million (R10.2 billion) a year, which includes image rights and endorsements deals.
As for Barcelona, his father and agent Jorge Messi recently revealed that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner would love to return to the Camp Nou, but their ongoing financial issues means a Catalonia homecoming is complicated.
Now, however, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has decided to take his career to Miami.
Messi has decided. His destination: Inter MiamiLeo Messi se va al Inter Miami
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) June 7, 2023
It is claimed that he has already informed the Blaugrana of his decision, with Messi's camp said to feel they could not trust Barcelona to give them guarantees they would be able to register him, while the player himself was said to have eliminated Al Hilal as a next destination earlier this week.
This decision is likely to disappoint Al Hilal's outgoing caretaker coach Emiliano Diaz, who recently admitted he would love to see Messi to join his side.
"It's a wonderful club, but people's burden is complicated," Diaz told TyC Sports.
"You have a lot of pressure; everyone wants to win. You play with 60 or 70 thousand people every game.
"I would love for Messi to go to Al Hilal; he is going to continue competing. There is an abyss between MLS and Saudi Arabia… Al Hilal would win the Argentine league from end to end."
Read: Part 3 I Journeyman striker on featuring for 17 clubs - 'I had to move and face new challenges'
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