As the Heat trails 2-1 in the NBA Finals series against the Denver Nuggets, the team’s superstar Jimmy Butler had one reason to smile outside the basketball courts. The forward couldn’t hide his excitement at Lionel Messi’s announcement that he was heading to Florida to play for Inter Miami in the MLS.
The soccer star, who recently led Argentina to the World Cup title back in December 2022, is considered one of the best players ever in the sport, if not the best. A fan of the game, Butler has met the Latin American star in the past.
“So much good. He’s obviously one of the greatest players to ever play that beautiful game. I’m so excited for the city of Miami, to be able to get a player of this caliber here… Now that he’s here, I think all football/soccer fans From all over the world they will come here and get a chance to watch him compete.Butler expressed his happiness to be here.
The Heat star is also friends with Messi’s former teammate, Neymar Jr. It is also known that he had a close friendship with Juventus player Paul Pogba.
The 33-year-old wasn’t the only player from the Heat roster to show enthusiasm about Messi’s upcoming arrival. Check out what they had to say about the huge news in the video below:
The announcement of the Argentine’s move to Florida has broken the internet since Wednesday, as the player is expected to join Inter Miami once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of June.
Messi’s move to the US not only raises the bar for the league, but also raises the curiosity of how he will fare in his first foray outside European football.
The World Cup winner was so close to heading to the Middle East that he secured a record-breaking bid from Saudi club Al-Hilal. Besides this opportunity, he also thought of returning to his beloved Barcelona, but because of the financial regulations became complicated.
Messi spoke to the press about his decision and why coming to Florida was the best option for him and his family
The world woke up on Wednesday morning to shocking news when Messi announced his new destination. “I made the decision that I was going to Miami,” he said.
“I still haven’t closed it 100%,” admitted the 35-year-old. “I still miss some things, but we decided to move on. If Barcelona didn’t succeed, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family.”
On his reasons for choosing the United States to end his career, he implied that he was mostly looking to enjoy the experience, not necessarily compete at the highest level.
“After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barcelona, it’s time to go to the MLS to experience football in a different way and enjoy the day,” Messi said.
Many fans were expecting him to take the same path that Cristiano Ronaldo took when he was signed to the Saudi national team, but the veteran star confirmed that money did not affect his decision.
He concluded, “If it had been about money, I would have gone to Arabia or any other place where they offered me a lot of money.”