Inter Miami executive won't rule out Messi move in future

Inter Miami chief business officer Xavier Asensi won't rule out signing Lionel Messi in the future as he wants to make the club a "reference point for football in the U.S."

"It depends on him and what he wants," Asensi told El Mundo Deportivo's Joan Poqui, as translated by ESPN. "We want to have the best players in the world, and I think Messi is the best in history. From there it's up to him. We want to be the reference point for football in the U.S., that's one of the objectives of the organization."

Messi's Paris Saint-Germain contract expires in June 2023. He said in December 2020 that it was a "dream" to play in the United States one day.

The Argentine attacker has won the Ballon d'Or seven times, which is more than any other player.

"You need the best players, and having them is a genuine objective at this club," Asensi added on trying to boost Inter Miami's worldwide reputation. "In terms of Leo Messi, there's him and then there's everyone else."

Inter Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham, take on Messi's former club Barcelona in a friendly on Wednesday. The MLS outfit is positioned ninth in the Eastern Conference. Gonzalo Higuain, Alejandro Pozuelo, DeAndre Yedlin, and Kieran Gibbs are among the bigger names in Phil Neville's squad.