Five legends whose footsteps Messi is following in with US move

Lionel Messi will join a list of some of the greatest footballers in history when he makes his Inter Miami debut in the coming weeks.

The Argentine follows in the path of fellow World Cup and Ballon d'Or winners by featuring in the US, having decided to leave European football after 23 years at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

We remember some of the biggest names to strut their stuff Stateside. 

Pele

Such was the impact of Pele signing for New York Cosmos that he was injured and evacuated on a stretcher after being swarmed by a crowd of fans at Boston during his first away game in June 1975.

The Brazilian's North American Soccer League career improved from there, though, and he went on to score 37 goals in 64 league matches between the ages of 34 and 36.

After that, no top player could claim that a career in America was beneath them.

Franz Beckenbauer

Cosmos did not stop there, recruiting German defender Franz Beckenbauer to play alongside Pele in their 1977 title-winning campaign.

The German defender — said to have invented the sweeper role — played 80 league matches in his first spell in New York between 1977-80, also winning the championship in 1978 and 1980.

He returned for a second bite at the Big Apple in 1983, playing 25 more matches.

David Beckham

David Beckham broke the mould of a typical MLS star recruit, joining LA Galaxy aged just 32 and while still playing some of the best football of his career.

The former England skipper had registered four assists in his last seven LaLiga matches for Real Madrid and made 21 more appearances for his country after leaving the Bernabeu.

His celebrity appeal was also a factor in his signing for Galaxy, for whom he scored 18 goals in 98 MLS matches.

Thierry Henry

Henry also made the move to MLS aged 32, having won virtually every major honour he played for at Monaco, Arsenal and Barcelona.

His New York Red Bulls stint was not a case of him winding his career down, though, as he notched 51 goals in 122 league matches across four-and-a-half years.

The French legend's creative output was also excellent, providing the most assists in NYRB's history across his time there.

Gareth Bale

One of the most decorated British footballers ever, Bale used a spell at Los Angeles FC to stay sharp ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

Though his US career was not as spectacular as other greats on this list, he did make history by scoring the latest goal in the league's history when his 128th-minute equaliser helped his side lift the MLS Cup.

It meant that even in a stint of just 12 games, Bale kept up his knack for providing key goals in crunch moments.

Notable mentions

Four members of England's 100-cap club have played in MLS.

Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole featured for LA Galaxy, Frank Lampard made 29 league appearances for New York City, while Wayne Rooney was a hugely popular player for DC United and has now returned as manager.

David Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kaka add to the list of modern-day legends to play in the division.

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