Lionel Messi landed in Florida on Tuesday ahead of putting the final touches on his move to US Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, ESPN television footage showed.
Fans had begun to gather at the stadium early in the morning ahead of his expected arrival.
The World Cup winner is expected to put pen to paper on a two and a half year deal, reported to be worth $60 million a year, before being presented to fans at a stadium event on Sunday.
The plan is for Messi to be presented to fans on July 16, with a possible debut date set for July 21 when Miami face Mexican team Cruz Azul in he Leagues Cup.
Messi’s move is without a doubt the biggest thing to happen to MLS in history, other than David Beckham’s groundbreaking move back in 2007.
MLS hope that Messi will massively increase the profile of the league and boost subscriptions to their streaming broadcast deal with Apple TV. Ticket prices for games likely to involve Messi have already sky-rocketed.
His arrival will also add to the momentum around the sport ahead of the 2026 World Cup which will be hosted by the United States along with Canada and Mexico.
Messi is expected to be joined at the club by former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets, while ex-Argentina and Barcelona coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino recently took over as coach, and another former Barca player, Jordi Alba, has also been strongly linked with a move to the team.