Lionel Messi: Inter Miami saved me from PSG nightmare

Tom Weber

Updated: 28 Feb 2025 14:35 CST
4 min read

Lionel Messi has opened up on his 'unenjoyable' time at Paris Saint-Germain and his transfer to Inter Miami in a rare interview.

The Argentine legend felt compelled to call time on his almost mythical spell at Barcelona in 2021 as the club's finances deteriorated to the point where they could no longer afford their most prized asset.

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Messi joined PSG, but his time in the French capital would be marred by relative underperformance on a club level. He left after just two years to move to MLS where he linked up with the Inter Miami franchise of former PSG midfielder David Beckham.

The 37-year-old has been a man reborn since his move to Fort Lauderdale. The 2022 World Cup winner has netted 36 goals and provided 20 assists in just 42 appearances so far.

Now, Messi has opened up on his time at PSG and his much-needed escape stateside.

Messi: PSG stint was not enjoyable

"I always had in my mind to play in MLS, I think I said it more than once" Messi stated in an interview with Apple Music. "It attracted me and it was something I wanted to do.

"Coming to play for Inter Miami was an opportunity and the way things developed during my last years in Paris, although it was a decision I had to make on the go because I had to leave Barcelona. Those two years were not enjoyable for me.

"I wasn't happy on a daily basis, with the training, the matches; I had a hard time adapting to all that. I felt called to come to Inter because it's a club that's growing, very new, with few years as a club.

"I liked the idea of coming and helping the club to become a greater club and I knew it was a city that my family and I would enjoy, although I didn't know it so well because I had only come a few times."

Messi also expressed his hope that more MLS sides would follow Miami's lead in trying to take their club and the league as a whole to a new level. "[MLS] is a league that matured and that keeps growing," he said.

"I hope that won't stop and that other clubs see what happened with Inter Miami and can keep maturing as clubs and keep driving the league forward, making it a more important league. I believe this is the opportunity for MLS to show a change to the world and keep growing."