If there is one thing that has stood out about Lionel Messi’s early days at Inter Miami, it is that the Argentine wizard looks happy.
Free from the pressure of European football, both his performances and his face have been graced by joyous expressions in recent weeks, inspiring Inter Miami to their first ever trophy in the Leagues Cup.
For Barcelona, what might stand out are the finances. The Blaugrana did not have room in their salary limit to sign Messi, and the numbers are a little depressing for President Joan Laporta. Only managing to sell 20,000 season tickets for their move to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys at Montjuic, no doubt that number would have been higher were Messi there.
In addition, Commercial Director Xavier Asensi of Inter Miami has told Marca that the Florida club will quadruple their income from last year with the addition of Messi. Clearly, Inter Miami are a club in their infancy, and their income would have been comparitively small to Barcelona’s, but it shows the dramatic financial boost Messi would have brought to the club too.
