Lionel Messi, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, has been suspended by Paris Saint-Germain for two weeks for missing training while in Saudi Arabia fulfilling his sponsorship contract as a Saudi ambassador. Although he can return for the club’s final two games of the season, it appears that Messi won’t be back in Paris for a third season, and his next landing spot has been a hot topic of speculation for months. While Barcelona, Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, and MLS’ Inter Miami are all possible destinations, Al Hilal could offer the biggest payday, with Messi potentially receiving a nine-figure annual salary playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in the same league. However, Messi, who is two years younger than Ronaldo, is more likely to have options in Europe, where he can play for clubs competing for Champions League titles. One league willing to bend its rules to secure Messi’s services is MLS, where he already owns a home in Miami and has a lot of fans in the U.S. MLS Commissioner, Don Garber, said the league would work very hard with Miami, the team hoping to sign Messi, to bring something over the finish line. Messi’s current Q Score, which measures favorability, is tied for the highest among all athletes with Michael Jordan, Patrick Mahomes, and Simone Biles. Moreover, he is one of just eight athletes to have earned at least $1 billion in salary and endorsements since turning pro. Messi placed third in the list of the world’s highest-paid soccer players with $110 million, which includes almost $50 million from sponsors Adidas, Budweiser, Mastercard, PepsiCo, Socios, and at least ten others.
