The co-owner of MLS franchise Inter Miami, Jorge Mas, has revealed how much Lionel Messi will be paid by his new team to Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Messi decided to join Inter Miami last month when his Paris Saint-Germain contract was set to expire, in turn rejecting approaches from former club FC Barcelona and Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

The Argentine is still set to make his debut in the United States after finishing the European season, playing a friendly for his World Cup-winning national team after scoring his fastest career goal against Australia, and playing a pair of testimonials at the stadiums of Newell's Old Boys and Boca Juniors.

In the meantime, though, Jorge Mas has shed some light on how Messi was acquired and what he will take home from his new home the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Mas, who co-owns Inter Miami with David Beckham and is a billionaire chairman and largest shareholder of Miami-based contrustction and engineering company MasTec MTZ , revealed that Messi's contract will pay him "between $50 and $60 million dollars per year".

"I spent three years on it, a year and a half very intensely," Mas explained, as per chasing Messi.

"There were many conversations with [Messi's father and agent] Jorge. David [Beckham] talked to Leo, only about football issues, because he was a player.

"I saw it done at the end of May. I didn't want him to feel under pressure. We spoke in Barcelona, Miami, Rosario, Doha... I spent the whole World Cup in Qatar, watching Argentina.

"The Apple AAPL contract was very important to close the deal," Mas said, in a nod to the 10 year, $2.5 billion deal the technology giant penned with the MLS in June 2022.

Though Inter Miami's pay packet pales in comparison to the reported €500 million ($545 million) offer Al-Hilal were willing to offer, Messi could still return to the top of Forbes' list of the World's Highest-Paid Athletes with help from his other endorsements and fresh partnerships deals acquired in the US.

In May, Messi was pipped to top spot on Forbes' list by a relatively tiny $8 million by generational rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned a total $128 million compared to his $120 million.

Since Messi has joined Miami, though, ESPN has reported that Messi is set to receive a cut of revenue from Apple's Live Pass for MLS fans when subscriptions take an expected boost thanks to his presence in the league, and The Independent also explained that sources told them the MLS's sponsor and Messi's, Adidas, was looking into a profit-sharing agreement with the player.

According to Mas, Messi "can turn MLS into one of the two or three biggest leagues in the world".

"I think he comes with the desire to leave his mark, and he will be able to do so beyond football."

"When he retires he will have a stake in the club," Mas also revealed, adding that he imagines "a life after football for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner "very similar" to that of Beckham or Michael Jordan.