From Pele to Cruyff, Lionel Messi joins the "stars" who write history in the American MLS

Lionel Messi turned down a hefty offer from Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal and the possibility of returning to Barcelona to move to the US as a free agent. But, he followed a path that has been described by the greats of football, choosing the American championship. This is what the big "stars" before him have done. For example, Edson Arantes do Naskimento, known as Pele, was a three-time World Champion and the best player in the world when he left Brazil in 1975 for the chance to be the face of soccer in North America. Pele joined the New York Cosmos team at the age of 34. Pele's name brought a buzz that the sport lacked in North America. Pele scored 64 goals in three editions for the Kosmos, securing the team the league title in 1977. Another star who chose America is David Beckham. He was 31 and had just completed four seasons with Real Madrid when he joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. It was the most lucrative deal the league had seen to date and laid the foundation for Beckham to become the eventual owner of Inter Miami. Beckham spent six seasons in Los Angeles. Pele was the first major international player to play in the USA. Beckenbauer was next. The German followed in Pele's footsteps by joining the New York Cosmos in 1977 and played for four editions. The team won the championship three times with Beckenbauer in the team. He returned to Germany for two seasons before joining the Cosmos for his final season as a player in 1983. But the impact in America was such that Beckenbauer was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame. in 1998. The other big name was Johan Cruyff. His brief retirement ended in 1979 when he signed with the Los Angeles Aztecs in the US. The Dutchman was voted the league's player of the year in his only season in Los Angeles, after scoring 14 goals in 22 games. He stayed in the American League in 1981, but was transferred to the Washington Diplomas. Zlatan Ibrahimovic followed this journey. "Here I am like a Ferrari among Fiat cars", was the famous statement. He played in MLS for only two editions with the LA Galaxy. They were unforgettable editions, filled with arrogance, courage and some spectacular goals. Ibrahimovic scored a goal from almost half the pitch in his first game against rivals LAFC. In 2019, at the age of 37, Ibrahimovic scored 30 goals in 31 games. He still continued to play,