The real reason Lionel Messi rejected Al Hilal despite receiving '€1.5 billion contract offer'

Lionel Messi explained why he opted to join Inter Miami as he rejected a monstrous offer from Al Hilal.

Messi was the hottest free agent going following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.

Barcelona attempted to re-sign their former player but were unable to complete the transfer due to La Liga's financial fair play rules.

Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal also made a play to recruit the World Cup winner, tabling an eye-watering €1.5 billion offer across two years.

But Messi turned down Saudi Arabia's advances, eventually penning a lucrative deal at David Beckham's Inter Miami.

He signed for the Florida-based club, citing he wanted to do what was best for his family and to be in a better environment.

"I made the decision that I'm going to go to Miami," he said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo and Sport newspapers.

"I still haven't closed it 100%. I'm still missing a few things, but we decided to go ahead. If Barcelona didn't work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family."

Barca legend Hristo Stoichkov praised Messi's decision to snub Saudi Arabia and said the reasoning behind it is the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's love of the game.

Stoichkov said: "The agents take care of the other things. Messi comes to compete and play and he doesn't care about money because he loves football."

Lionel Messi in action for Inter Miami. Image: Getty

Messi's Inter Miami are in Saudi Arabia for a two-game tour, with friendly matches against Al Hilal and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr on deck.

Al Hilal, who boast the likes of Neymar, Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, take on the MLS side tonight.

Messi and Ronaldo, who is recovering from a calf injury, could then go head-to-head on Thursday as Inter Miami face Al Nassr.

Topics: Lionel Messi, Football, Inter Miami, Saudi Arabia

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar