{"id":18011,"date":"2026-05-06T14:45:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/18011\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T14:45:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:45:41","slug":"lionel-messi-and-luis-suarezs-inter-miami-move-in-focus-again-as-ex-barcelona-president-josep-maria-bartomeu-drops-bold-claim-about-duos-mls-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/18011\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez\u2019s Inter Miami move in focus again as ex-Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu drops bold claim about duo’s MLS switch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of Lionel Messi<\/a> and Luis Suarez<\/a> continues to echo through soccer, especially as their time at Barcelona remains a defining chapter. Now, former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has brought fresh intrigue to their exits, linking past decisions to their present journey at Inter Miami in a way few expected.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s departure in 2021 marked the end of a 21-year association with Barcelona<\/a>, closing one of the most iconic player-club relationships in soccer history. Despite agreeing to a reduced salary, financial restrictions and league regulations prevented the club from finalizing a new contract.<\/p>\n

Barcelona officially cited \u201ceconomic and structural obstacles\u201d when confirming the exit, a moment that stunned fans and reshaped the club\u2019s future. The Argentine\u2019s emotional farewell only underlined how unexpected the situation had become, even for the player himself.<\/p>\n

The Blaugrana\u2019s financial crisis played a decisive role, with debts soaring and La Liga\u2019s wage cap tightening dramatically. Even with a 50% pay cut, Messi\u2019s contract could not be registered, as the wage bill exceeded permitted limits.<\/p>\n

This situation created what many described as a \u201cregistration deadlock,\u201d leaving Barca unable to retain its most valuable asset. The impact was immediate, with analysts estimating a significant drop in the club\u2019s brand value following Messi\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n

What Bartomeu revealed<\/p>\n

The narrative has taken a new turn following Bartomeu<\/a>\u2019s recent comments, which shed light on discussions that predated both players\u2019 eventual move to the United States. \u201cThere had already been talk of a stint in Miami with both Messi and Luis Suarez,\u201d he revealed to Cadena SER.<\/p>\n

This claim suggests that the idea of joining Inter Miami<\/a> was not spontaneous but part of a longer-term vision, potentially considered even during their Barcelona years. It adds a new layer to how their careers have unfolded since leaving Europe.<\/p>\n

Bartomeu also defended his efforts to retain Messi, stating: \u201cI tried to renew Leo Messi\u2019s contract; it was essential to maintain our income level and because we were missing that player who brings a higher level of performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"messi<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Luis Suarez of Barcelona celebrate<\/p>\n

Life after Barcelona<\/p>\n

Following his departure, Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain before eventually moving to Inter Miami, where he has become the face of Major League Soccer<\/a>. His journey reflects both adaptation and continued excellence, culminating in major achievements, including international success with Argentina.<\/p>\n

Suarez followed a different path through European and South American soccer before reuniting with Messi in Miami. Their partnership has once again captured global attention, this time in a growing league seeking international recognition.<\/p>\n

\"Luis<\/p>\n

Luis Su\u00e1rez #9 of Inter Miami CF celebrates with teammate Lionel Messi #10<\/p>\n

Back in Spain, Barcelona has been forced to rebuild, both financially and competitively. The club has undergone major restructuring, reducing debt and investing in a younger squad, though the absence of Messi\u2019s influence remains evident. Bartomeu believes the team could have benefited from keeping the Argentine longer, stating: \u201cOne or two more seasons at Barca\u2026 would have been very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The story of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez continues to echo through soccer, especially as their time at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,4017,5187,301,332,3044,4206],"class_list":{"0":"post-18011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-barcelona","8":"tag-barcelona","9":"tag-inter-miami","10":"tag-josep-maria-bartomeu","11":"tag-la-liga","12":"tag-lionel-messi","13":"tag-luis-suarez","14":"tag-mls"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}