Miami is no stranger to Messi. This is a city with an Argentine and Latin community (about 100,000 people). Bloomberg points out that Miami is always the top choice of wealthy businessmen from South America, especially Argentina.

Spanish is a popular language in Miami. According to the US Census Bureau, 70.2% of Miamians aged 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while the number who speak English is only 22.7%. Miami has enough factors to help Messi live a comfortable life and doesn’t take much time to adapt. The former Barca star also stayed away from pressure and boos from fans.

High life

In 2019, Messi spent $5 million to own a luxury apartment at Porsche Design Tower, in Sunny Isles beach area, Miami. Messi’s apartment is located high up, with a view of the sea and has a specialized elevator for cars. The building where Messi’s family lives was inaugurated in 2014 and is only about a 25-minute drive from Inter Miami’s stadium.

This is not the only property Messi bought in Miami. In 2021, M10 continues to spend 7.3 million USD to own an apartment at Regalia Tower. This is also a place often visited by A-list stars in Hollywood when coming to this city.

Miami is also the residence of many world famous people such as David Beckham (co-owner of Inter Miami), Gloria Estefan, Shakira, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady or Cindy Crawford. Among these is Shakira, a female singer who has a good relationship with Antonela Roccuzzo, Messi’s wife. Shakira and her ex-boyfriend Pique attended Messi’s wedding in 2017.

Having the opportunity to meet famous people helps Messi’s family expand their business relationships in the future. NY Post points out that this is also a way for Antonella to strongly develop her personal brand. This Argentinian model currently has 35 million followers on Instagram and is the representative face of several famous brands.

Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, Messi’s three children, will likely study at Miami Country Day, the most prestigious and expensive school in this city. This is also where the children of Shakira or Tom Brady, America’s top football star, are studying.

At  Inter Miami , M10 did not have to suffer alone when his close friend  Sergio Busquets also agreed to join . Sergio Aguero, another longtime friend of Messi, also lives near Miami. The former Man City star bought a $15 million apartment to live with his girlfriend Sofia Calzetti in Hollywood, a 10-minute drive from Sunny Isles beach.

Messi will definitely earn more money if he goes to Saudi Arabia to play football. But that is a place that does not bring a sense of familiarity and a close atmosphere like Miami.

New experience

In addition to the advantages, Messi also faces many challenges when going to America to play football. MLS is completely different from the tournaments where Messi has played in Europe.

First is the harsh weather conditions. MLS is not like European tournaments, which are held from August to May of the following year. The US National Championship takes place from February to December, which means players have to compete in the heat of summer and in the harsh cold of winter.

In 2019, the match between Portland Timbers and Colorado Rapids recorded temperatures down to nearly -10 degrees Celsius. Six years earlier, the championship match was held with temperatures of -6 degrees Celsius. Many reporters were able to work. said he “can no longer feel movement from his fingertips”.

Besides, constantly traveling to compete is also a big obstacle in Messi’s adaptation process. If they play against the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Inter Miami team will have to take a 7-hour plane ride to get to the match venue. Previously, M10’s longest away trip only lasted 1.5-2 hours on the plane when Barca met Sevilla or Celta Vigo.

M10 also had to get used to traveling by commercial flights, which meant no private space. Previously, Barca or PSG rented entire planes for the whole team to travel every time they played away from home.

Messi is predicted to become a new icon of American sports. This country’s media believes that M10 is like a “magnet” that helps draw a huge number of fans to the US to travel and watch matches. Not only Miami, other cities or states can also benefit from the reputation of the former Barca star.

After Pele or Beckham, Messi is expected to help the Chinese football scene change in a positive direction in the future.