Lionel Messi is moving his talents to Florida, and all MLS team Inter Miami needed was some assistance from the world’s largest enterprise to sign him. According to The Athletic, Lionel Messi will receive a portion of Apple’s $2.5 billion, 10-year contract with the MLS.
While the details of his contract with Inter Miami are still being worked out, The Athletic says that the companies discussed handing him a cut of the revenue earned by MLS Season Pass, the league’s Apple TV+ streaming subscription.
According to The Athletic, such subscription purchases form the core of the massive Apple-MLS contract. The day before Lionel Messi revealed his decision to join Inter Miami, Apple launched a four-part documentary series about the Argentine sensation.
Some anticipated that when Lionel Messi became a free agent this season, the record seven-time Ballon d’Or winner would transfer to Saudi Arabia
According to The Guardian, Cristiano Ronaldo became the highest-paid player in sports history when he signed a $220 million-a-year contract with Al Nassr last December. Several more soccer players, including last season’s Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, have inked contracts with Saudi clubs in the recent week.
But Lionel Messi was not convinced, turning down Al Hilal’s alleged $1 billion per year deal, according to The Athletic. Inter Miami has just been in the MLS since 2020, and David Beckham co-founded the club in 2018. The club was founded as a result of Beckham’s own relocation to the MLS in 2007, as it came with the option to purchase an expansion team for $25 million, according to The Guardian.
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