It would not be wrong to say that the footballing world was all geared up for Lionel Messi’s fairytale return to Barcelona after leaving Paris Saint-Germain following the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.
The Argentine superstar’s glorious journey will Barcelona came to an end in an unceremonious fashion a couple of seasons ago. And it looked like, he would finally be able to get a fitting goodbye from Camp Nou.
His highly-anticipated move to Barcelona looked imminent as talks were held between his camp and the club. With Xavi publicly expressing his interest in Messi, it looked like a matter of time before the Argentina international moved to Spain. But to everyone’s utter surprise, Messi decided to snub Barcelona to seal a move to MLS outfit Inter Miami.
Carlos Tevez reveals the reason behind Lionel Messi’s decision:
Lionel Messi’s decision to not join Barcelona and instead sign up for Inter Miami has taken the footballing world by surprise. And while the fans and experts continue to find the reasons behind his baffling decision, his former Argentina teammate Carlos Tevez has explained the decision.
Supporting Messi’s decision, the former Manchester City and Juventus striker said that the 7-time Ballon d’Or chose to avoid putting his teammates in a difficult position by asking them to take pay cuts or leave the club. Barcelona have been facing financial issues from quite some time now and it was also one of the main reasons why Messi left in the first place.
“It seems to me that Leo took the decision knowing and understanding his own situation. He didn’t want to go back to Barcelona and have his team-mates lower their salaries and be the bad guy again,” said Tevez while speaking to ESPN.
“It hurt him more than anyone not being able to return to Barcelona, which is his home. I think it was all very lukewarm on Barcelona’s part. Leo opted for the league in the United States. He likes Miami, it’s a tranquillity for him and his family.
“I think what he did was the right thing to do. If it wasn’t Barcelona, where he knew he was going to be the centre of attraction again, it was nothing in Europe. The decision was very well made,” he added.
Messi is now gearing up to play club football outside Europe for the first time since making his debut for Barcelona in 2004.