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One GOAT will play in Miami after all, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady welcomed him.
Brady sent a message to soccer great Lionel Messi, who will play for MLS franchise Inter Miami, via star-studded welcome video. Celebrities in the video included Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and producer D.J. Khaled.
“Leo, I wanted to say congratulations on the big move to Miami,” Brady said in the video.
Messi led Argentina to the World Cup last year, which further cemented his GOAT status among soccer greats. He had been playing for Paris Saint-Germain FC of Ligue 1 before he signed with Inter Miami in June.
Brady, who resides in Miami, is friends with Inter Miami owner David Beckham. Last year, Brady appeared headed for part ownership and playing for the Miami Dolphins before a discrimination lawsuit by former head coach Brian Flores interrupted that.
With that nixed, Brady spent another year with the Bucs before his retirement on February 1. Brady has tried his hand at ownership in other sports such as the WNBA and professional pickleball, but he hasn’t done soccer yet. Regardless, he has high regard for Messi as expressed in the past.
“I love Messi, he is a great player; however, I am a little older than him,” Brady said in a press conference before the Super Bowl in 2018. “I love soccer, I’ve watched it for a long time and I’m not old enough to have watched Maradona, that’s probably for previous generations. I admire him, he’s a great athlete.”
Tom Brady Dominated in International Soccer Stadiums With Pas and Bucs
Brady also played four career games in soccer stadiums internationally during his 23-year NFL career. He led the Patriots to victories in London twice and Mexico City followed by a win in Munich with the Bucs in 2022.
That last game, Brady called it an “epic” experience as the fans sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads” toward the end of the game. Brady finished 4-0 in international games for his career.
“At the end of the game, them singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ and ‘Country Road’ — that was pretty epic,” Brady told reporters in October 2022. “So, I thank everyone who was part of that experience. [I] got to have some pretty amazing memories for life.”
Retirement Continues for Tom Brady
Despite the persistent comeback speculation, Brady remains retired.
That includes the latest conjecture from Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. He said that he’s “sure” the Bucs are encouraging Brady to return during “The Richard Sherman Podcast” last week.
Brady hasn’t posted anything on Twitter or Instagram in response to the most recent rumor, but he repeated his intention to stay retired last month in a Sports Illustrated interview. He retired on February 1 for a second year in a row, but this time, he held off coming back after 40 days and dove more into off-field business ventures.
One of those ventures, his pending part ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders, remains on hold. Mark Maske of the Washington Times reported that Brady’s deal is “not likely to be resolved” according to sources during the NFL owners meeting in Minneapolis on Thursday, July 20.
Whether or not that impacts Brady’s decisions for 2023 remains to be seen. He still has his broadcasting gig with FOX on hold for 2024.
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