Lionel Messi: Inside Al Hilal’s Last-Ditch Offer to Ex Barca Star Before Inter Miami Move

• Al Hilal were extremely confident of signing Lionel Messi before the sudden announcement that the Argentine would join Inter Miami
• Messi’s move to Inter Miami was confirmed by the 35-year old himself in a sit-down interview
• The move has reportedly left Al Hilal chiefs seething as they were prepared to hand the Argentine a private jet to the Middle East

Lionel Messi is set to become an MLS player after agreeing to join the David-Beckham-owned Inter Miami.

Things would have been much different had Messi decided to pursue a mega money deal set on the table by Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal.

Al Hilal were intent on signing the Argentine, and up until Wednesday, June 7, it almost seemed like they could genuinely pull it off after it was announced the 35-year-old would leave Paris Saint Germain.

Barcelona was also a plausible destination for Messi, but in a candid interview with Mundo Deportivo and Sport, the Barcelona legend admitted he did not want to subject himself to a similar situation as the one he experienced in 2021 as he exited the club.

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Al Hilal’s last-ditch attempt

As reported on SportBible, Al Hilal, who were frontrunners to sign Messi, made a final desperate attempt to woo Messi into their club.

COPE journalist, Helena Condis, reports that the Saudi Arabian club was prepared to offer Messi a mega offer of €1.3 Billion for 3 years, which would have seen the 35-year-old earn €500M a year roughly.

CBS Sports further reports that the club was also readying a private jet to fly Messi out to the Middle East to finalize the deal and were left extremely offended after the Inter Miami decision.

Meanwhile, Messi joins an Inter Miami team that sits bottom of the Eastern Conference and are currently without a manager.

Messi speaks on Inter Miami move

Elsewhere, Sports Brief reported on Lionel Messi’s take on why he decided to move to Inter Miami and not Saudi Arabia or Barcelona.

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Messi, who left Barcelona for PSG in the summer of 2021 due to the La Liga club's financial constraints, was reportedly keen on retracing his steps for a last dance with La Blaugrana. However, the club's precarious financial status made the deal technically impossible.

Shedding the light on his botched return to Barca, Messi explained:

"I'd have loved a farewell like Iniesta, Busquets, Jordi Alba, Xavi... this is why I was very happy to hear the chants with my name by Barça fans at Camp Nou. It was a strange feeling to hear Barça fans calling my name, but then...I wasn't there," he said as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.