Lionel Messi says he tried to make a return to Barcelona before committing to Inter Miami.

Messi has announced he is joining Inter Miami as he comes off contract at PSG.

He told Sport: "Yes, the truth is yes. I really wanted to come back, I was really looking forward to it. But, on the other hand, after having lived through what I lived through, after the exit I had... I didn't want to go through the same situation again and have to wait to see what was going to happen. I didn't want to leave my future in the hands of others.

"Somehow, I wanted to make my own decision for myself, for my family. Even though I heard that they said that the league had accepted everything and that everything was OK for me to come back... there were still a lot of other things missing. I heard that they had to sell players or lower the salaries of players and the truth is that I didn't want to go through that, nor be responsible or have anything to do with all that.

"During my career at Barcelona, I was accused of a lot of things that were not true and I was a bit tired of it. I didn't want to go through all that again. And well, when I had to leave, they also said that Laliga had accepted everything, but in the end it couldn't be done. I was afraid that the same thing would happen again and I would have to rush [a decision] like I did then: I had to come here to Paris, to stay in a hotel for a long time with my family, with my children going to school and still being in the hotel. I wanted to make my own decision. That's why I didn't come back from Barça.

"I would have loved to come back. I'm also at a point where I want to get out of the spotlight a bit, to think more about my family. As I said, I just had two years in which things were not great for the family and I didn't enjoy it. That month was spectacular for me when we won the World Cup, but apart from that, it has been a difficult time for me and I want to rediscover my enjoyment, to enjoy my family, my children, the moment.... That's why Barcelona didn't happen."