When Lionel Messi made the decision to head to Inter Miami inGerardo"Tata" Martino was named the new Inter Miami manager, and during an introductory press conference on Thursday, he discussed Messi and Sergio Busquets – two players he coached during their time together on the Argentina national team – coming to Miami to further theirHe admitted Miami is usually a vacation destination for a lot of players around the world, but they’re ready to compete.
"When we spoke with Leo, yesterday I spoke with Sergio, we talked about arriving to have success, to compete and compete well," Martino said via"This happens to us even on a personal level, sometimes we associate the United States, Miami, holidays — this isn’t that. We want to compete."For Messi, he decided to go to Inter Miami despite Saudi Arabia offering loads of money to join Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in their top league.
Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain is shown during a match with Juventus at Juventus Stadium on November 2, 2022, in Turin, Italy. However, Martino said that talks with Inter Miami occurred prior to Messi and Busquets making their decisions.