That would at least resemble David Beckham’s contract with the LA Galaxy, which gave him the option to purchase an MLS expansion team for $25 million. Messi’s deal likely would include the option to purchase a percentage of an MLS team upon the end of his time as a player in MLS, multiple sources briefed on the discussions said. Messages left for Inter Miami spokespeople and Jorge and Jose Mas were not returned as of publication.
The negotiations are being led by Inter Miami owners Jorge and Jose Mas, those sources said.
Another said even Inter Miami team executives are split on whether they think it will happen. Sources across the league who have been briefed on talks varied in their confidence level of whether Inter Miami and MLS would be able to win the race to sign Messi. In 2017, he signed a lifetime footwear sponsorship deal with the company. Messi himself has a long-standing relationship with Adidas, which started in 2006. The German manufacturer supplies kits to all 29 MLS teams and also designs the league’s official match ball and is the league’s official footwear sponsor. The two sides renewed their partnership earlier this year, signing a six-year, $830 million extension that runs through 2030. Messi is being offered a profit-sharing agreement with the sportswear giant, those sources said, which would involve the player receiving a cut of any increase in Adidas’ profits resulting from his involvement in MLS.Īdidas has partnered with MLS since the league’s inception in 1996. On Tuesday, Apple revealed that a four-part docuseries chronicling Messi’s five World Cup appearances would stream on Apple TV+.Īdidas, which is among MLS’ largest corporate sponsors, has prepared its own potential arrangement to entice Messi to the United States, multiple sources briefed on those plans told The Athletic on Tuesday. Both sides view Messi’s potential involvement in Major League Soccer as a boon Apple and MLS signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion agreement this spring. Multiple sources involved in or briefed on the high-level league discussions said earlier this week that MLS and Apple have discussed offering Messi a share of the revenue generated by new subscribers to MLS Season Pass, the league’s streaming package on Apple TV+. MLS’s offer to Messi involves contributions from the league’s two biggest commercial partners. “The league has gotten very creative with all of this,” one MLS stakeholder said of a potential deal to bring Messi to MLS on Tuesday morning.
Reports about Messi’s imminent decision have emerged from Europe, South America and Asia, and have run the gamut this week, but momentum seems to have shifted toward Inter Miami in recent days. Transfer targets for every Premier League team.Follow live updates on Lionel Messi’s next move.One source briefed on the high-level league discussions said MLS executives were told Messi’s decision is down to Inter Miami or Barcelona and that joining a club from Saudi Arabia is “not under consideration.” That same source mentioned a potential date for Messi’s MLS debut, should he sign: Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Mexican side Cruz Azul on July 21, currently set to be held at Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium.
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