Know who is Javier Morales, the current interim coach of Inter Miami
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has decided to sign for MLS club Inter Miami, find out the reason behind the move, Inter Miami club history, manager, Messi new salary, and more.
Inter Miami are a very new club with just five years of history and three years in the MLS.
Who is Javier Morales Inter Miami interim head coach, bio, age, height, wife, stats and career
🚨🚨 BREAKING: Lionel Messi to Inter Miami, here we go! The decision has been made and it will be announced by Leo in the next hours #InterMiami
🇺🇸 Messi will play in MLS. No more chances for Barcelona/Al Hilal despite trying to make it happen.
𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄 𝐆𝐎#Messi #MLS pic.twitter.com/OTYWIlEzNc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 7, 2023
Inter Miami have fired head coach Phil Neville, per multiple sources.
The team currently sits at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference with just 15 points in 15 games. pic.twitter.com/A04gpmK9dG
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 1, 2023
Following his decision to join Inter Miami in the US, he has turned down PSG, Barcelona, and a Billion dollar offer to join the Saudi Pro League.
Lionel Messi signs for Inter Miami
Messi announced his decision to sign for Inter Miami on Wednesday after a deal to return to Barcelona fell through. He stated:
I made the decision that I am going to go to Miami.”
Messi started out his career played for the Catalan giants from 2004 and played or them until 2021. Throughout his years Barcelona, Messi scored a record 672 goals and was initially keen for a return. However, reports have indicated that Barca are cash-strapped and cannot afford to bring over Messi.
The Argentine footballer further said:
If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight, and think more about my family.”
Reason behind Lionel Messi signing for Inter Miami and salary
Lionel Messi signed a new deal with Inter Miami worth £43 million per year for a span of four years. This means that he will earn just a little under £1 million every week. There are various reason behind Leo Messi joining Inter over the other options. One of the main reasons is that he wanted to leave the attention in Europe on him and his family, which he stated himself.
Another reason could be the MLS’s offer for a revenue-sharing deal with Adidas and Apple TV+. Moreover, Messi also already has real estate property in Miami. This would make it easier for his three sons and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, to make the move to Miami.
Interestingly, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suárez, who are all former teammates of Messi at Barcelona, are all linked to join Inter Miami. Gonzalo Higuain another of Messi’s former teammate, played for Inter before retiring last year.
Inter Miami club history and owner
Inter Miami officially known as Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, are one of the newest clubs to join Major League Soccer (MLS). The US-based league itself started out only in 1996.
Unlike other European football pyramid system of promotion and relegation, the MLS follows US sports business’s franchising and expansion model. The league has a single league split into eastern and western divisions. The leaders during the regular season then qualify for a postseason knockout tournament, which determines the league champion.
Ever since Miami Fusion collapsed in 2001, Miami has been a target city for MLS executives over the years. When former England star David Beckham joined the MLS with LA Galaxy as a player back in 2007 he got the option of purchasing an expansion team in his contract.
When he eventually retired in 2013, David held meetings and put forward Miami as an option for him to invest. Much to the delight of MLS executives David joined forces with American billionaires Jorge and Jose Mas to set up Inter Miami.
As such, the group founded Inter Miami in 2018 and the club officially started playing in the MLS in 2020. The DRV PNK (Drive Pink) Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, which has an 18,000-capacity serves as the home for the club.
Inter Miami current manager
Beckham’s influence has gone a long way in hiring big names to manage the club. Former Uruguay coach Diego Alonso served as the first manager for the club. Following which Manchester United player Phil Neville who is a former teammate of Beckham then served as the manager for Inter Miami joining in 2021.
However, Phil Neville was just recently fired last week following his poor form. In his absence, Javier Morales, a 43-year-old Argentine former player, is currently serving as the interim manager. Javier previously served as the coach of Inter’s academy.
Javier Morales (born 10 January 1980) is an Argentine former footballer who is the interim head coach of MLS side Inter Miami.
In a short span of time, Inter Miami have become one of the leaders when it comes to academies in the MLS and a lot of that has to do with Javier Morales. The former Real Salt Lake midfielder and native of Argentina has been at the heart of the growth of the Inter Miami Academy and was the first team assistant under head coach Phil Neville.
Born: 10 January 1980 (age 43 years), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Number: 11 (Real Salt Lake / Midfielder), 11 (FC Dallas / Midfielder)
Children: Santiago Morales, Mateo Morales
Height: 1.75 m
Partner: Noelia Morales
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