Fort Lauderdale Mayor Trantalis thrilled that Messi is joining Inter Miami
MIAMI - It's the soccer shocker of the year right - legend Lionel Messi is coming to South Florida to play with Inter Miami CF.
If all goes accordingly, Messi's first game with the club could happen as early as July. That's something Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis is excited about.
"It is a soccer town and it's going to be the soccer capital of the world," he said.
Inter Miami is based at DRV PNk Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and that's where they currently play their at home games. Trantalis thinks his addition to the club will be a huge move for the sport in America.
"I think Inter Miami and MLS are hoping that Lionel Messi brings another wave of support, another wave of interest, that already has the league in a very good place, you think about David Beckham joining the league 16 years ago, the league only had 13 teams, they now have 29," said Trantalis.
As far as negotiations, they've been going on for months and the mayor said Messi could have gone nearly anywhere in the world.
"It says that we're fabulous, it says that Lionel Messi chose this area partly because of the fans and partly because of Florida, South Florida, continues to grow," said Trantalis.
Though the deal scores a lot of incentives for Messi and the local area, he said the fans may be the biggest winners.
"Keep in mind that we have a lot of young people training, and wanting to be a part of the sport. A lot of them come from right here in our city, so to have Lionel Messi in our community, it's going to be very important for us," said Trantalis.
"I think Inter Miami and MLS are hoping that Lionel Messi brings another wave of support, another wave of interest, that already has the league in a very good place, you think about David Beckham joining the league 16 years ago, the league only had 13 teams, they now have 29," said Chris Wittyngham, MLS announcer.
