Jorge Mas, the president of Inter Miami, gave an interview to ‘El Club del Deportista’ to explain the success of the signing of Leo Messi.
It was not an easy task, as Mas himself explains, but the work had its desired effect, putting MLS on the soccer map thanks to the legendary No.10 playing in the American league.
You can now watch Messi in MLS with Apple
“I always aspired to sign Messi. Everyone told me I was crazy to think he would come to Inter Miami. In 2019 I arranged a meeting with Jorge Messi. David Beckham and I explained to Jorge for three hours the project and there I went to sell the Miami concept. I see the history of soccer in America with three important dates: Pele, when he arrived in 1972 at Cosmos, Beckham’s arrival in Los Angeles and Messi’s arrival in Miami,” the businessman said.
Messi’s arrival has revolutionized soccer in the USA. The focus is now on a league that has a lot of possibilities for growth. “MLS is different. Every time we play away from home the stadiums are full. The reception for Lionel has been extraordinary. The game in New York, with almost 30,000 fans, 80 percent of them shouting Messi’s name, there were Argentina shirts and pink Inter Miami shirts.
“I was shocked, I didn’t expect that. To see the impact Lionel has had, how he is raising the interest in the league and how the world now sets its eyes on the American league. There will be a before and after Messi’s arrival in MLS,” said Mas.
Mas reveals one of the best kept secrets so far, the conversations with Jorge Messi and how he convinced the Messi family that Inter Miami was the place for him. “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 is given in very few opportunities to an athlete.
“I kept in constant communication with Jorge, it was four and a half years of convincing Lionel and having him decide with his family. I never lost faith. I was convinced that Lionel Messi was going to come to Miami. I spent a lot of time talking to Lionel about Miami, about his family, about his future and I saw that there was a great possibility of being able to close something after the World Cup, in January or February”, said the Inter Miami boss.
As he himself acknowledged when he saw Messi arrive at the Miami airport: “Uff, this is real”, the future with Leo has many pages to tell and among them one of the promises made to the Argentine was to say goodbye to the Barcelona fans.
“Messi’s departure from Barcelona was not to his liking, he could not say goodbye to his club that 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 will go or we will do some kind of match,” Mas concluded.