Lionel Messi joins MLS side Inter Miami

PARIS, June 7 (Xinhua) --

Argentine football star Lionel Messi said on Wednesday that he will sign for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.

Messi's former club Paris Saint-Germain announced last week that Messi is set to leave after the final Ligue 1 match. The Argentine forward spent two seasons at PSG, for which he had signed as free agent in 2021 after leaving Barcelona.

Messi, who turns 36 later in June, has been earlier linked to a move to come back to Barcelona, where he spent the majority of his career.

"I've taken the decision that I am going to Miami, I don't have (the deal) 100 percent sealed or maybe there's something left to do, but we decided to continue our path there," Messi was quoted by Spanish newspapers Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo as saying.

Inter Miami, co-owned by former England international David Beckham and founded in 2018, also confirmed the news on social media.

Messi, a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, won the World Cup with Argentina as the captain in December 2022 in Qatar for the first time in his career.