Messi mania engulfs Miami crowd as Inter unveils Argentina forward; Watch

At long last Lionel Messi has arrivedInter Miami mdash after years of plotting pleading and hoping mdash introduced arguably the gamersquos biggest star on Sunday night presenting their new franchise player with his pink No 10 jersey that millions of people will be buying over the coming weeks and monthsldquoIrsquom sure wersquore going to have many wonderful experiencesrdquo Messi told the crowdSunday was the first one Almost every seat was filled despite horrible weather conditions that delayed the show and nobody seemed to mind soaking rain that pounded down throughout the eveningldquoIrsquom very much moved to be here in Miami to be with yourdquo Messi said ldquoI want to thank you all of you on behalf of my family for the kindness that you have given merdquoBeckham the teamrsquos coowner and president had huge dark blotches on his blue blazer because of the rainIt was going to take more than a downpour to ruin this party one where fans roared and music boomedldquoTonight is a typical Miami welcome for one of the greatest players to ever have played the gamerdquo Beckham said during the telecast of the show ldquoThe fact that we have our fans in here celebrating this moment this is what we have created and wersquore very proud of thatrdquoAlso Read Lionel Messi mania takes over Miami ahead of Argentine soccer superstars arrivalAdded primary owner Jorge Mas ldquoWhen David and I first met and we dreamt of what Inter Miami represents it started off with the freedom to dream And we dreamed of not only bringing elite players and the best players but the best player to ever don boots mdash and his name is Lionel Andreacutes MessirdquoWhen Inter Miami began floating the notion that it would be the team to land Messi and bring the World Cup champion to Major League Soccer there were no shortage of people who were to put it mildly skeptical about how realistic a plan that wasAmong them MLS Commissioner Don Garber Yes even the man running the league had a bit of doubtNot anymore Messi to Miami isnrsquot just crazy talk It happened with Messi now tasked to lift a team that currently has the fewest points in the MLS standings and is mired in an 11game winless streakldquoHere we are today with a player that I think without doubt is not only a generational player but in my opinion the greatest of all timerdquo Garber said ldquoWent through a process throughout his decisionmaking period over the last number of months if not the last year to determine where he was going to play Many of you have heard us say that we want MLS to be a league of choice a league of choice for players for fans for partners and ultimately for investorsldquoAnd when you have the best player of alltime making Major League Soccer his league of choice I think itrsquos a real testament to where MLS is and where itrsquos going in the years aheadrdquoThe event billed as ldquoThe Unveilrdquo happened at the teamrsquos stadium in Fort Lauderdale It comes one day after Messi MLS and Inter Miami finalized his signing through the 2025 seasoniexclHola Leo pictwittercomIUdG8TKJ5Kmdash Argentina Gol BocaJrsGolArg July 17 2023Itrsquos the start of a busy week of events for Messi with his new club His first official training session that will be open to reporters is set for Tuesday and mdash if all goes to plan mdash he will play Friday in a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul That could also be the Miami debut of World Cup winner Sergio Busquets a Spanish midfielder who completed his longawaited signing with the club Sunday through the 2025 seasonBusquets who turned 35 on Sunday and the 36yearold Messi were teammates previously at BarcelonaldquoThis is a special and exciting opportunity that Irsquom very excited to takerdquo Busquets saidMessi a World Cup champion for Argentina and seventime Ballon drsquoOr winner as the worldrsquos best player in a given year is joining a club that has the fewest points in MLS and is mired in an 11match winless streak Inter Miami opened the season with two wins and has gone 3143 since It has 12 MLS matches left this season and is 12 points out of a playoff spot mdash so itrsquos going to take a ton of wins just to have a chanceThe club previously announced that Messirsquos deal will be for 2 12 seasons and will pay him between 50 million and 60 million annually mdash putting the total contract value between 125 million and 150 million in cash alone There are other factors the value of which isnrsquot knownldquoThis ought to be fun This journey here in Miami has been an epic onerdquo Garber saidMessirsquos greatness is not in question he led Argentina to the World Cup this past December and is still generally considered one of the very best goalscorers in the world mdash if not the bestThat said not everyone believes Messi coming to MLS will be a cakewalk even for a legendldquoHe wonrsquot find it easy hererdquo Wayne Rooney the former England and Manchester United great who now coaches DC United told The Times of London for a story published Sunday ldquoIt sounds mad but players who come in find itrsquos a tough league The travelling the different conditions in different cities and therersquos a lot of energy and intensity on the pitchrdquoBut Rooney also knows how Messi playing here is huge for MLS and huge for soccer in the USldquoAmericans love winnersrdquo Rooney said ldquoAbove all they want to see skill and to be entertained and Messi brings all thatrdquoMessi announced his decision in early June and the buildup to Sunday was growing ever sinceldquoThis is our momentrdquo Mas said ldquoOur moment to change the futbol landscape in this countryrdquoWith AP inputs