Lionel Messi showed "he doesn't care about money" by turning down a hugely lucrative offer from Al Hilal to sign for Inter Miami, according to Hristo Stoichkov.
Messi confirmed his intention to join Miami in June, after it was announced he would be leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.
The 36-year-old was officially unveiled as a Miami player on Sunday, and trained with his new team-mates – including Sergio Busquets – for the first time on Tuesday.
Al Hilal, one of the four Saudi Arabian clubs bankrolled by the Gulf state's Public Investment Fund (PIF), wanted to sign Messi, but former Barcelona star Stoichkov thinks the Argentine proved his priority is football, not cash.
"We didn't play for money, we played for love," Stoichkov, who was one of Barca's greatest players in the 1990s, told Stats Perform.
"This shows greatness. It didn't matter to me to know my salary or the bonuses, for me it was more important to play and that people value me.
"The agents take care of the other things. Messi comes to compete and play and he doesn't care about money because he loves football."
Messi confirmed he could have returned to Barcelona, though ultimately decided against the move as the Catalan giants continue to tussle with financial difficulties.
Stoichkov, who played in MLS in the early 2000s, was not sad to see Messi turn down his former club, with the Blaugrana legend suggesting a deal was never feasible.
"I knew that he was not going to return because of the way and the impact of what happened when he left Barcelona," he said.
"He wanted to stay at all costs to finish his career at Barcelona, but he couldn't.
"I didn't believe it, even though I had the opportunity to talk with him, with his father and his brothers. I, as a former Barcelona player and partner, have always liked having the best players and Messi did not deserve that exit [in 2021].
"Many people criticise him because he did not want to return, but they do not think about how he left.
"Messi has done something that few people would do, say that he was not going to return so that his team-mates do not suffer. This shows his greatness, because he could return but surely the president was going to have to lower the salaries of the players and cut other costs for this to happen.
"Messi never wanted a team-mate to experience those things. The claims that he did not want to return are not true."
New England Revolution 1-4 Inter Miami: Messi at the double as Herons run riot
Lionel Messi scored twice and laid on a goal for Luis Suarez as Inter Miami retained their three-point lead at the Eastern Conference summit with a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution.
A franchise-record crowd of 65,612 people witnessed a flying start from the Revs as they took the lead within just 37 seconds at Gillette Stadium. Carles Gil pounced on some sloppy play from Miami to tee up Tomas Chancalay, who lobbed Drake Callender for the opener.
However, Miami roared back with Messi leading from the front. They had a deserved equaliser just after the half-hour mark, Messi slotting home after latching onto Robert Taylor's throughball.
Messi had his second after 67 minutes, producing another composed finish after former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets split the New England backline.
Messi was involved in another two goals as Miami added some gloss to the scoreline late on; his first-time shot was saved by Henrich Ravas but Benjamin Cremaschi was on hand to score on the rebound after 83 minutes, then the Argentine teed up Suarez for a curled finish five minutes later.
Miami stay three points clear of Supporters' Shield holders FC Cincinnati at the top of the East, with the Orange and Blue keeping pace by beating the Colorado Rapids 2-1 on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Messi rolls back the years
Ahead of Saturday's game, some feared Miami boss Gerardo Martino would opt to rest Messi after speaking of the risks of fielding the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner on New England's artificial pitch.
However, Messi came through 90 minutes with another mesmerising performance. He has now recorded a goal involvement in 10 straight club matches for the seventh time in his glittering career, last doing so for Barcelona between September and December in 2018.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
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