Lionel Messi, the soccer icon who made one of the most impactful strikes in the historical past of the sport in America by signing with Inter Miami of the MLS final summer time, has been named 2023 TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year.
“For reasons that have been bandied around for decades… the United States, the world’s most lucrative sports market, had never fully embraced the beautiful game,” wrote TIME senior sports correspondent Sean Gregory. “Recently, however, the sport has seen impressive growth, and with the U.S. hosting three major international tournaments in the next three years. … It’s sure to attract even more fans. But Messi is an accelerant. With the most revered and influential athlete on the planet playing in Miami for at least the next two years, still performing at the top of his game…the U.S. is now a soccer nation. A fútbol nation.”
Those three main U.S.-hosted tournaments embrace the 2024 Copa America, which will be seen completely in the U.S. on the FOX household of networks and the FOX Sports App subsequent summer time, in addition to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Of course, a significant side of Messi’s influence on American soccer is that he joined Inter Miami and the MLS lower than six months after he led Argentina to a dramatic victory in the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup. While the 36-year-old Messi has not dominated out taking part in in 2026, the 2024 Copa America — which Argentina may even enter as defending champion — could possibly be his final main worldwide match for his nation.
Messi’s resolution was additionally gorgeous as a result of, after a return to his house European membership Barcelona was deemed not possible, he turned down an enormous deal to affix the Saudi Pro League the place he would have reunited with longtime rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema amongst a number of different European membership stars who’ve signed profitable conntracts there.
“The truth is that fortunately, I had several options on the table that were interesting, and I had to analyze them and think, even weigh them up with my family, before making the final decision to come to Miami,” Messi informed TIME. “It is also true that later I was thinking a lot about going to the Saudi league, where I know the country and they have created a very powerful competition that can become an important league in the near future.
“As the nation’s tourism ambassador, it was a vacation spot that attracted me, particularly as a result of I’ve loved every little thing I’ve visited, as a result of of how soccer is rising in the nation and since of the effort they’re placing into making a high competitors. It was Saudi Arabia or MLS, and each choices appeared very attention-grabbing to me.”
Messi told TIME he has enjoyed adjusting to his new home, even if the traffic and humidity of Miami have been difficult at times. As for how his home has adjusted to him, Messi immediately electrified a crowd that included LeBron James, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian and team co-owner David Beckham by sinking a game-winning free kick in his July 21 debut. Beckham was in tears after the kick as he embraced his wife Victoria in celebration.
“I bear in mind getting in the automobile on the means again, and I stated to Victoria, ‘I’m not even positive I can drive house,'” Beckham told TIME. “You couldn’t have written it higher. It was for MLS, and for America. It was for the future of the sport.”
Lionel Messi drills a ridiculous free kick in stoppage time in his inaugural match with Inter Miami CF
That’s true off the field, too. Messi’s MLS contract reportedly includes a revenue stake in league broadcast partner Apple and an ownership stake in Inter Miami upon retirement, similar to how Beckham’s contract to join the LA Galaxy in 2007 gave him an ownership stake in a future expansion club that later became Inter Miami.
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Inter Miami was one of the worst teams in the MLS when Messi joined, and though his heroics lifted the squad to its first-ever trophy in the in-season Leagues Cup tournament, Miami failed to make the 2023 MLS playoffs. Messi says he’s focused on physically and mentally resting and spending time with his family before next season.
Lionel Messi
Argentina
Inter Miami CF
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