Lionel Messi is coming to America.
The World Cup winner – whose unparalleled talent and rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo defined football for more than 15 years – will most likely practice his profession in South Florida this summer at Inter Miami CF.
Rejecting an offer from Saudi Arabia and a chance to join his former club Barcelona, Messi said on Wednesday he plans to join Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, although no one has yet agreement has been concluded.
At 35 years old, Messi is older than MLS itself: its inaugural season was in 1996. By the time Inter Miami first took the field in 2020, the Argentine superstar had already racked up dozens of titles and honours.
Here, Al Jazeera looks at five key facts about Inter Miami, the club soon to become home to a player often referred to as the GOAT – the greatest of all time.
David Beckham is part owner of the club
While Messi and Ronaldo were the biggest names in football in the 2010s, David Beckham was arguably the game’s most famous player in a previous era.
The Englishman himself played in the MLS between 2007 and 2012 with the LA Galaxy team. Beckham’s spell in Los Angeles, home to many movie stars, paparazzi and celebrities, helped cement his fame in the US.
In his playing time, Beckham established himself as a world famous celebrity athlete, famous not only for his soccer skills but also for his life off the field as a fashion model. He also made numerous public appearances with his wife Victoria Beckham, a fashion designer and pop star.
Beckham helped found Inter Miami in 2018 with investors Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, with whom he still co-owns the club. Beckham has said he sees Inter Miami as a “hotbed” of local young talent.
Team has struggled
Inter Miami has struggled to produce results over their more than three seasons in the league, despite the Beckham-induced attention the club has received.
In their current campaign, they are last in the Eastern Conference with 15 points in 16 games. Inter’s best season was last year when they finished sixth in their conference, but fell in the first round of the play-offs.
When he comes to Inter Miami, Messi will have to get used to terms like ‘conference’ and ‘playoffs’. The MLS format does not follow international standards for competitive football.
The league is split into two conferences based on geographic regions whose top teams meet for a knockout tournament at the end of the regular season. There is also no relegation or promotion – or even second-tier competition in MLS.
Inter Miami sacked their head coach Phil Neville last week after a string of poor results.
In 2021, Beckham begged for patience after a disappointing 10th-place finish last season, saying that even big clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United weren’t “built in a day”.
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) June 7, 2023
In dispute with the other Inter
For most football fans around the world, the name “Inter” brings to mind a completely different club: Inter Milan, current Champions League finalists and 19-time champions of Italy.
So when Inter Miami came into being, a legal dispute arose between the two Inters over trademark rights in the US.
The American Inter – formally the Club Internacional de Futbol Miami – and the Italian Inter – formally the Football Club Internazionale Milano – both laid claim to the commercial use of the name in the US.
After years of litigation, neither team has been forced to change its name or marketing strategy. After all, the football world has countless Uniteds and Reals, even two Liverpools and two Barcelona’s, which have been able to coexist for decades. It will probably have to live with two Inters.
Inter Miami you say? 🤔 https://t.co/NcdUfKjPH6
— Inter (@Inter_en) September 5, 2018
Pink is the color
Messi will wear Inter Miami’s signature pink from now on. Since its formation, the club has adopted pink as its primary color and has played with an all-pink kit for the past two seasons.
The color is intended to represent the “vibrant soul of South Florida,” the club says.
“The good news is when you turn on the TV and see us in pink, you know it’s us,” Mike Ridley, senior vice president of brand and marketing at Inter Miami, told Sports Illustrated last year.
“If you want to own it, own it. I think all-pink is going to be very eye-catching and you’re not going to miss us, that’s for sure.”
Although flamingos can occasionally be seen in Florida, the team’s logo features a white heron, a more common bird in that part of the world.
The bird is “an embodiment of unity and a core element of the club’s identity,” Inter Miami said on its website.
Higuain played there
Another Argentina great and a former national teammate of Messi has played for Inter Miami. Ex-Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain signed for the club in 2020 and remained there until his retirement in 2022, scoring 29 goals.
But he was in the twilight of his career by the time he moved to the MLS and never made the buzz that Messi generates.
Messi will certainly hope that his American adventure will be more memorable than his compatriot’s.