Lionel Messi is coming to Major League Soccer.

The Argentine superstar ended months of speculation about his future Wednesday by announcing his intention to play for Inter Miami.

“I’ve made the decision that I’m going to Miami,” Messi said in an interview with Spanish outlets SPORT and Mundo Deportivo, as translated by The Athletic. “It’s still not a done deal 100%. I’m missing a few things, but we’ve decided to keep going down the path.”

Messi, 35, will officially become a free agent when his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires later this month. The Ligue 1 champions said last week that he wouldn’t renew his deal after two seasons in the French capital. Barcelona and Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal were heavily linked with Messi for some time. Al-Hilal reportedly tabled the most lucrative offer, but Messi said he only considered returning to Catalonia. When it became apparent that reunion wouldn’t materialize, he decided on Miami.

“If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, leave the spotlight, and focus more on my family,” he added.

“I had a lot of hope that I’d be able to come back (to Barcelona), but after living what I lived through and the exit that I had (from Barcelona), I didn’t want to come back to be in the same situation: to wait and see what was going to happen or leave my future in the hands of another person.”

This will be the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s first experience playing senior club football outside of Europe following a decorated career at Barca and a brief stint at PSG. In 853 club matches in Europe, he scored 704 goals, recorded 303 assists, and collected 37 trophies.

Inter Miami, sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference, weren’t alone in their quest to sign the most successful player in football history. Adidas and Apple, Major League Soccer’s top commercial partners, apparently contributed to getting Messi to the U.S., according to The Athletic.

Both companies are understood to have played a role in negotiations, with multiple sources telling The Athletic that MLS and Apple discussed offering Messi a portion of the revenue generated from new subscribers to the league’s streaming package on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+. Apple also announced Tuesday that a four-part documentary about Messi’s five career World Cup appearances will be exclusively available on Apple TV+ this year.

Adidas’ bid to convince Messi to move to North America includes a profit-sharing agreement with the German sportswear company, per The Athletic. Messi will reportedly receive a share of increases in the company’s profits pertaining to his transfer to Inter Miami. Messi signed a lifetime footwear sponsorship deal with Adidas in 2017 after initially partnering with the company in 2006.

The Athletic also reports that Messi’s contract is expected to include an option to purchase a stake in an MLS club after he’s finished playing in the league. David Beckham had a similar clause in his deal with the LA Galaxy that allowed him to purchase an expansion team for a discounted fee of $25 million. He and a group of investors were announced as Inter Miami owners in 2014 before the club began play in 2020.

Al-Hilal were in the running to make Messi the latest superstar to join the Saudi Pro League after Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Karim Benzema’s arrivals. The club reportedly offered Messi a more lucrative deal worth €400 million a year, which would’ve doubled the amount of the contracts his ex-Real Madrid rivals received.

But Al-Hilal, one of four Saudi Pro League clubs taken over by the country’s Public Investment Fund earlier this week, recently became worried that Messi lost interest and accepted that they were out of the race to sign him on Wednesday, sources told ESPN.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have repeatedly expressed their desire to re-sign Messi after his 2021 exit. But their efforts to reunite with the 2022 World Cup winner fell short due to the club’s financial constraints. Despite their best efforts to adjust their payroll and make a move for Messi viable under La Liga’s salary cap, the legendary forward didn’t want to wait any longer for Barca to get their house in order.

“Even though I heard that (Barca) said that the league had accepted everything and that everything was OK for me to come back … there were still a lot of other things missing,” Messi explained.

That led him to Inter Miami, who are without a permanent head coach after sacking Phil Neville last week amid the team’s disappointing season. Inter Miami have just 15 points after 16 MLS games.

Messi’s former Argentina coach, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, has held talks about possibly replacing Neville, The Athletic reports.

Messi could reportedly make his Inter Miami debut in the club’s Leagues Cup match against Mexican side Cruz Azul on July 21.

Karim Benzema said goodbye to Real Madrid and hello to Al-Ittihad on Tuesday.

Hours after an emotional press conference in which he admitted it “hurt” to leave the Spanish club, the Ballon d’Or holder was officially unveiled by the Saudi Arabian champions.

The Frenchman put pen to paper on an initial two-year contract that includes an option for an additional season, reports transfer insider Fabrizio Romano. Benzema will earn almost €200 million per season, including commercial deals, Romano adds.

“I am excited to experience a new football league in a different country,” Benzema said. “I have been fortunate to achieve amazing things in my career and achieve everything I can in Spain and Europe. It now feels the time is right for a new challenge and project. Every time I’ve visited Saudi Arabia I’ve always felt such warmth and love from the fans and people. I am looking forward to joining my new teammates and, together with them, help take this amazing club and the game in Saudi Arabia to new levels.”

Reports last week indicated that Al-Ittihad first tabled a €400-million offer in January, similar to what Al Nassr presented to procure the services of the Frenchman’s former Real Madrid teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Benzema, 35, voided a one-year extension clause in his Madrid contract to facilitate his move, according to Romano. Carlo Ancelotti, who urged the veteran superstar to retire at the Santiago Bernabeu, said Sunday he was surprised by the decorated forward’s decision to depart.

“I have coached one of the best in the world, not a forward, a complete footballer,” Ancelotti added. “A very friendly, humble, serious person. We can’t be happy he is going, but we have to respect his decision. What he has done at this club is legendary and unforgettable.”

Benzema scored his 354th – and final – goal for Los Blancos in Sunday’s season finale against Athletic Bilbao. Only Ronaldo, with 450, has more in club history.

The Frenchman leaves the Spanish capital having hoisted 25 major trophies over a remarkable 14-year spell, including five Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles, and the Copa del Rey on three occasions.

AC Milan fired club legend Paolo Maldini as technical director on Monday, according to Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio.

Frederic Massara, Milan’s sporting director, is reportedly out as well.

The bombshell comes just a day after Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced he was leaving Milan and retiring from the game at 41 years old.

The Rossoneri qualified for next season’s Champions League by finishing in fourth place in Serie A but fell short of defending the title they won last year.

Maldini, a former defender who spent his entire 25-year career with Milan, was one of the architects who helped revive the club following years of mismanagement and ownership turmoil. He played an active role in player recruitment, signing the likes of Ibrahimovic and star forward Rafael Leao while helping the team navigate a ban from European football for Financial Fair Play violations.

However, Maldini didn’t share the same vision as RedBird Capital, the U.S.-based investment firm that bought the club from hedge fund Elliott Management last year in a $1.3-billion deal, according to football insider Fabrizio Romano.

Maldini returned to Milan in June 2018 as development director before taking on more responsibility in the sporting and technical fields. He and right-hand man Massara helped bring the club closer to break-even status by achieving results with a tight budget. In May 2021, Milan qualified for the Champions League for the first time in seven years and last season won the Serie A title for the first time in 11 years.

Maldini also helped re-sign a number of key players on expiring contracts over the last few months, with defenders Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori, and Pierre Kalulu, midfielders Sandro Tonali and Ismael Bennacer, and forward Leao all extending their stays.

The dressing room reacted badly to the news of Maldini’s firing, according to Milan insider Daniele Longo.

However, manager Stefano Pioli is reportedly set to remain in charge. His contract runs until June 2025.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the boastful Swede who scored more than 500 goals in a decorated career spanning 24 years and seven countries, announced his retirement Sunday.

The 41-year-old ends his career with AC Milan, whom he helped win the Serie A title last season. He had two spells with the Rossoneri, winning the title in 2010-11 before returning to the club in December 2019. He also represented Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and the LA Galaxy.

“The time has come to say goodbye to football, but not to you,” Ibrahimovic told the crowd at San Siro following Milan’s season-ending 3-1 win over Hellas Verona.

A number of injuries, including a knee issue that required reconstructive surgery last summer, limited Ibrahimovic to just four appearances this season. He was unable to play in Sunday’s finale because of a calf injury he suffered in April.

Despite the lack of minutes, Ibrahimovic still left a mark on the season, becoming the oldest player to score in Serie A at 41 years and 166 days in Milan’s 3-1 loss to Udinese in March.

He began his career with hometown club Malmo in 1999 and scored in every year since, bringing his career haul to a stellar 573 goals, including 62 for Sweden. A towering striker with a black belt in taekwondo and a larger-than-life personality on and off the pitch, Ibrahimovic won 32 trophies, including league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France.

However, he couldn’t win the Champions League, joining the likes of Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, and Eric Cantona as greats of the game who missed out on Europe’s top prize. Ibrahimovic only managed to win the second-tier Europa League with Manchester United in May 2017.

He developed his signature swagger as a rebellious teenager growing up in one of Malmo’s housing projects. One of five children born to a Bosnian father and Croatian mother, he idolized Brazilian striker Ronaldo and sought to replicate his commanding style of play.

Ibrahimovic signed his first professional contract with Malmo in 1996 and famously turned down a trial offer from Arsenal when he was 17. Later, he met the late super agent Mino Raiola, who’d go on to broker Ibrahimovic’s many transfers, which were worth an estimated total of €169 million.

He enjoyed his most prolific spell with Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 156 goals in 180 appearances between 2012 and 2016 while winning league titles in each season. He was PSG’s record scorer before being overtaken by former teammates Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe.

His strongest connection was with Milan. He first represented the Rossoneri in 2010 when he arrived on loan from Barcelona following what he described as the most difficult season of his career. Ibrahimovic said the Italian club helped him recapture the happiness he lost during that tumultuous year in the Catalan capital, where he openly quarreled with then-manager Pep Guardiola.

Ibrahimovic bagged 93 goals in 163 matches for Milan and helped them return to competitiveness following years of mismanagement and ownership turmoil. They clinched their first Serie A title in 11 years last May.

“The first time I came here, you gave me happiness,” he said Sunday. “The second time, you gave me love. You welcomed me with open arms, you made me feel at home, I will be a Milanista for the rest of my life.”