Inter Miami's promise to Messi that he will get his Barcelona farewell

Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas has given an interview to Club del Deportista, reported by Marca, in which he reveals one of the pacts reached with Leo Messi to secure his signature.

Mas admitted that "obviously, being the best player in the world there was a lot of competition, a lot. Not only with the renewal that PSG wanted, the possible return to Barcelona and the offers from Saudi Arabia. Frankly, it was a very intense few months, I had multiple meetings between Rosario, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Miami, Doha.... Did I see the operation in danger? Of course there were doubts. There was a lot of pressure."

Faced with this situation, the executive had to make a promise to the player: "Messi's departure from Barcelona was not to his liking, he could not say goodbye to his club, which welcomed him as a child, and I think the circumstances were not what Lionel wanted. I gave him my commitment that I will do everything possible in the coming years to give him the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona. Inter Miami go tere or will we do some kind of match."

Jorge Mas revealed that he had been pursuing the signing for four years. "In 2019 I organised a meeting with Jorge Messi. There David Beckham and I explained the Miami project to Jorge for three hours. I told him: 'Your son will have the opportunity to create a new legacy because he is going to be able to change a sport in a country,' and that not something that happens for many athletes," he explained.

In his presentation, Mas added that "it was four and a half years of convincing Lionel and his family. I never lost faith. I was convinced that Lionel Messi was going to come, I saw that there was a great possibility after the World Cup, and in January or February to close something."