The future of Lionel Messi lives definitive hours. With his departure from Paris Saint Germain confirmed, the Rosario will define his next team for next season in the short term, with the offer of Inter Miami biting in tip as favorite.
Given the economic difficulties of Barcelona to sign him, clubs of the Premier League and Serie A - without knowing the name of the clubs - seem to have appeared in the last hours. However, the two offers that are firmly presented on the table come from Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and the one corresponding to the whole of the MLS of David Beckham, a team that seems to advance little by little in the seduction operation and its chances of staying with the world champion seem to grow more and more.
Despite marching last in the standings of its conference and being in the interim of an Argentine coach, the growing franchise could be close to getting its first symbolic title from the hand of the leader of the Scaloneta.
And if the American team manages to kick the board by finalizing the arrival of the seven-time Ballon d'Or to the United States, the phenomenon will be mainly due to two names: Jorge and José Más, the megamillionaire brothers who own the franchise who are leading the negotiations in person and to whom it seems that if their economic fortune was not enough, they want to stay lucky enough to have Messi as the star of their team.
As much as Beckham is the visible face of the American club, Jorge and José are in a real game of chess. They move piece by piece silently to reach their goal, with the help of their fortune pulling the strings of negotiation, the one they have dreamed of producing for years.
Both are sons of Jorge Mas Canosa, from whom they inherited and multiplied their million. He is a Cuban who arrived in Florida, United States, in 1960 after fighting for years against the communist regime of Fidel Castro.
After stepping on American soil without money, the first job he got was as a milk and shoe salesman, a step prior to being appointed as branch manager of the infrastructure company called Church & Tower, which in 1971 he acquired with the help of a loan of 50 thousand dollars. The father of the Mas brothers would be responsible for merging it with Burnup & Sims, another utility company, to give birth to MasTec, his family company.
In 1963 and 1965 Jorge and José were born, respectively, in Miami. Between the two they would create the Cuban-American National Foundation, along with a network of family industries, and become one of the most prominent Cuban-American entrepreneurs in the United States after the death of their father in 1997.
Currently, Jorge is the president of the board of companies and the Cuban-American Foundation, in addition to having been director of MasTec, a place currently occupied by his brother José. Between them, they led to the firm being the second largest Spanish-speaking company in the United States. But it never seems to be little for the Mas brothers. It is also that Jorge is the president of the Spanish club Zaragoza, currently in the second division, and according to Forbes magazine, his fortune would be around 1300 million dollars.
And now, making use of their aspirations for greatness, they are looking to keep the best player in the world to bring his magic to Miami. Even their conviction in themselves led them to set a deadline to do so: 2025. They would not get their hopes up about Lionel again after that year, but according to rumors, almost two years less would be enough to achieve it.
Despite David Beckham being one of the most recognized owner faces of the MLS team, Jorge and José had a very important magnitude for the creation of the team, while they have it in recent days to convince Messi of his arrival.
Marcelo Claure, Beckham's business partner, was the one who started the fantasy of creating a club in Miami more than 10 years ago. But faced with some adversities that arose on the wheel, the Mas brothers became in charge of making the project a reality.
And so Claure acknowledged it in 2018: "About sixty days ago (January 2018), we had finished. We gave up. We weren't going to do this. We met David for breakfast at a hotel in New York City to practically say goodbye. Then, we looked at each other and he said, 'Man, we just can't give up.'"
However, he added: "Then I remembered that a few months ago I had received an email from the Mas brothers wanting to talk about football. We all sat down and it was a magical moment. We found the missing link. We found the local partner who knows Miami and can complement what we are bringing to the table. If it wasn't for David (Beckham), Jorge and Jose (Mas), we wouldn't be here today."
As a result, the Mas brothers acquired 48% of the club's shares, leaving Beckham with only 10%. Due to their degree of importance, they decided to start progressively transforming the team into a star-studded roster. And despite having had players like Gonzalo Higuaín until last year, his biggest step in this project could be confirmed in the coming days with a difficult offer to reject for Messi.
What is Inter Miami's offer like?
It is told by the prestigious site The Athletic, which depends on The New York Times. In addition to the salary, which would be much lower than what Arabia proposes with its 400 million dollars, Inter Miami has the financial backing of the MLS – in reality, all the players in the league belong to the parent company in the United States – and Apple, owner of the television rights of the competition.
One of the salient points of the contract is that Leo will receive royalties for the extra income that the MLS has for new subscribers who join the "football pack" of Apple + since the arrival of the Argentine. Both organizations have a 10-year contract signed a few months ago for 2,500 million dollars and are convinced that the arrival of the leader of the Scaloneta will trigger the audiences. And there is a fact that should not be missed
Another actor that would appear in the negotiation is Adidas, historical sponsor of Leo and main sponsor of the MLS – all teams wear clothing of the German brand. The Rosario would also receive royalties for the profits of the firm that occur since its landing in North America. The three-strip firm and MLS have been partners since 1996 and recently signed a multi-year deal in exchange for $830 million.
The last leg of the offer comes directly from MLS. It includes the possibility of Messi buying a league franchise. It's the same financial engineering they employed when they brought David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Englishman, years later, became one of the owners of Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi and David Beckham with Italian Verratti. Photo: PSG Inside.
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