Quite a wierd announcement today if you ask me. Most outlets are acting like it is a done deal announced. But Messi only said that he "wants" to go to Miami. MLSsoccer.com's front page article says its GREAT he wants to come -- but we don't have a deal with him YET. Big day .. maybe. Big event .. if it happens. Discuss
BTW ... I do not put it past the Messi camp to be using MLS as leverage in sweetening the Saudi Arabia pot. Barcelona was lost as a stalking horse. If they are intent on improving the offer from Saudi this would be a way they might do it. amiright?
“I made the decision that I am going to Miami. I still haven't closed it one hundred percent. I'm missing some things but we decided to continue my journey there." So yeah, not signed yet but pretty strong statement of intent. "I made the decision" is a lot stronger than "I want to go". Ownership of Miami also put it out there that he is signing.
Yeah, i was really taken by the leagues statement. The league avoids saying he is coming, or a deal is done, or anything conclusive. Perhaps that has changed since i checked on mlssoccer.com
Also, you guys are not as cynical as i am and believe people are honest when they talk about multi-million $ deals.
I'm very cynical. When there was discussion about Elis potentially returning to MLS earlier this year and people were buying it, my response was, "bullshit, this is just his agent creating a stalking horse to get a better deal in Europe". I was right. Difference here to my mind is an agent saying, "we have interest from" versus the player themselves saying, "I have made my decision".
I dont disagree. But he follows that sentence up with “its not 100%. There are still things missing. “ And the league was caught totally off-guard and issued a statement saying, basically: uh yeah. Great. You know we dont have a deal with him, but we look forward to him coming.”
You've conquered the Planet Lio, play in Houston and your legacy goes to the Moon and back mil veces!
The chronicle is really trying here, but didn’t research that the Dynamo can’t host Miami in the USOC final and that since Miami already played here this season and is in the East, we likely won’t see Messi here until 2025 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...si-miami-houston-dynamo-mls-fans-18140723.php
if he doesn't come to Miami, I'll just claim that the whole thing was a stolen, fraudulent, hoax perpetrated by billionaires oppressing the lower class in concert with activist judges and illegal aliens at disney world drinking bud light. In keeping with the theme of the 2020s
Am I the only one who literally doesn't care about this move? I'm not celebrating Miami for any reason, I hate that team. I'm not happy they got Messi, and I'm not happy that the Dynamo had to give up money for him to go to Miami. I could care less that Messi plays in this league if it isn't for us.
What is odd is that Messi, being informed of this or not form his agent or other footballers that have played in the U.S., lived here a while and see other sports and how the U.S. is for cities that really go all out for their local pro teams. But he should be advised that Miami is notorious for being the most aloof fan base of their very own pro teams. The Marlins in MLB have won two World Series and yet the team cannot draw flies! In a market where baseball is a cultural foundation. Yet getting in a car to attend games. Meh. I do. As I recall what impact Pele did for the sport in our nation. Specifically planting the seed for the youth soccer boom of the 70's and 80's where in places like Texas, none of our fathers had even heard of association football much less played it. But then we got a ball dropped in our laps in 1979, played on our very first youth team down at the local YMCA and went with our fathers to Hurricane home games in the Dome. Pele added a new sport to us Americans. Pele really wanted to see the sport grow in our nation and his arrival did plant that seed. So with Messi, the game has grown so much now, I want to watch what his attention and desire to play here does to the younger generation in our nation. How new kids to the sport get attached to the beautiful game.
I get that view, and I'm not trying to disrespect it. But, I don't care about Messi. I understand how great he is, and what he could (possibly) do for the league. I don't care about the league either. I care about the Dynamo and could give a crap what every other team does or doesn't do. Him playing for Miami actually makes me hate him more, and the deal makes me hate our league construct even more.
I don't hate Messi. I understand what a big deal it is for him to come play in MLS. Having said that it really doesn't mean much to me personally. I think the big dealness of it all is temporary. I've seen play in NASL or MLS now: Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbaur, Mueller, George Best, Zlatan, Blanco, Gerrard, Beckham and so many others. In the end I don't think they build a sport or a league. They come in, create some temporary interest and such, hoover up money, and leave. When world wide audiences youtube their Messi highlights and see him playing on artificial turf it will not build respect, or sustainable interest, in MLS. Fixing that problem, for me, is more important. However, if Messi leads to additional investment in player quality across the board as Beckham's decision did, then that will help move the league forward. If Messi is a catalyst for greater improvement like getting rid of artificial turf fields then it will help. In the end -- much of my soccer interest is World Cup related. I want to see our USMNT in a world cup final. I am VERY aware of what that takes (unlike 99.9% of my fellow American fans and pundits) and view it as improbable in my lifetime. My patron saint is Bruce Arena who, after Germany 06 elimination, was asked what will it take for the USA to be competitive at a World Cup. He responded, and I paraphrase: "The USA must become a better soccer consuming nation. Buy more shirts. Go to more games. Watch more football." From that time to now his statement strikes me as absolutely right. It lead me to go to my first Dynamo game and has driven my interest in doing my part spending money on soccer. It motivates me to this day. Messi will help with that while he is here. Unless it leads to foundational improvements the help will be temporary.
I'm ecstatic about it. I remember the Pele effect. More importantly, I remember the Beckham effect and see his signing as a major transition point for MLS. For where we are now, it's another inflection point for MLS. Messi launches greater interest unquestionably, which then bridges us to the 2026 World Cup which will be huge for MLS as well. I look at it as an investment. There's a reason why Apple and Adidas were willing to pitch in. There's a reason why any MLS team should be thrilled about this. Ultimately it brings more attention and money into the league which translates into a greater ability to invest and grow. Net-net, it should be tremendous for everyone in the league, not just Miami.
No, I’m a Frankfurt and Dynamo fan, I could care less about everyone else in the world. You don’t play for us, I could care less about you.
Sorry, I'm going to go pedantic on you. "I could care less" means it is possible for you to care less than you actually do. You mean "I couldn't care less" as in it is absolutely impossible for me to care less than I actually do. Common mistake though, which is why I struggle to overcome my awareness that I should just let it go.
Messi is gonna do for the MLS what Beckham did but 10 times more. This is a major positive for the league and every team in it. I'm happy that he came here and look forward to enjoying the profusion of dividends it will bring both financially and experience. PS For those that need it-- https://www.dictionary.com/browse/don-t-look-a-gift-horse-in-the-mouth
So, great Messi is coming. He's not playing for my guys, and we are helping them pay his salary. Sorry, can't help but feel like I got kicked in the nuts by a naked Marisa Tomei. Like, it's nice seeing my dream girl naked and up close, but not the way I imagined in my dreams. Another thing that is concerning for me, Miami can't get all the stars because Beckham owns them. They have already had their fair share in the short time they have been around. I'm hearing rumors that Suarez is going to join them too. They can't just get all the big names because of who owns them. That, long term, is not good for the league. Sure, it will sell out some games, but then it just becomes a traveling show. Plus, Miami is the worst sports town in the entire country. Even the Dolphins aren't heavily supported. I'm not amazed by one man, Messi is a legend true, but he's also played with 10 of the greatest players at all times when he was at Barcelona. I'm a fan of my club, I really don't care if I ever get to see Messi play in person or not. If he were coming to Houston, sure I'd be ecstatic, but he's not. I just feel like our league is doing Mickey Mouse things to get him here.
Recall that our league as MLS was set up after the 1994 World Cup was to avoid the pitfalls of what doomed the NASL. I.e. bigger markets being able to command bigger signings at will, no salary cap, playing in rented stadiums with no vision for building stadiums that allow for date control and revenue streams. To make no mention of the old NASL had no foresight into youth academies to grow their own talent. And all the gimmicks it had that made FIFA almost label the old NASL a renegade league and all records and stats from said league were almost considered null and void. Oh, and insular mindset with no desire for Open Cup competition nor CONCACAF regional competitions. With this in mind, MLS was specifically set up to be a Single Entity league where league funding and costs and thus revenue was shared equally between all owners. End game is that what benefits one team more than the others still gets trickled down to the other more moderate revenue generating clubs. Like the old saying, a rising tide lifts all boats. So Messi bringing his skill set, image and brand with Adidas is going to raise the profile and revenue streams for him and for the league as a whole. Now, the day him and Miami play our boys, F HIM! But the other 364 days of the year good for MLS!