Izuchukwu OkosiFormer Barcelona and PSG staff Lionel Messi has elected to sign for MLS side Inter Miami at the expense of an emotional return to Barcelona or the lure of a big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner with Argentina had been expected to go back to Barcelona where he was a cult hero before the infamous transfer to PSG.
Another twist to the Messi summer transfer puzzle came with the sudden rise of the Saudi Arabian league with multi billionaire owners, mostly from the ruling class behind the ownership of the country’s top football clubs.
Messi will clarify the reasons and details of his decision to join Inter Miami in the next hours.
Deal will be valid with immediate effect as his father and agent, Jorge Messi is planning to travel to Miami later tonight (Wednesday).
It is expected that Barcelona will no longer have the chance of signing the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner despite trying hard to lower their wage bills and accommodate their former star.
Many top football journalists like Fabrizio Romano and Guillem Balague have reported the news Wednesday evening and informed that tech giants Apple, and sports wears manufacturers Adidas are hugely behind the project.
Messi’s decision to head to the United States of America, some reports scooped, is driven what he feels is best for his family. He also has a property in Miami already.
All tickets for the Inter Miami’s July 21 game against Charlotte at 12.30am Nigerian time which could be Lionel Messi’s first match with the club are sold out.
Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal made one final offensive for Messi, with an offer of €1.3 billion for three years which amounted to €500m per year.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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