Lionel Messi is helping to lure another top talent towards MLS, with Athletic Club star Inaki Williams eager to chase an American dream of his own.

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi departed European football in the summer of 2023 when leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent and linking up with Inter Miami.

He has made an immediate impact in Florida – savouring Leagues Cup glory – and has helped to raise the profile of elite competition in the United States.

He has been joined in Miami by Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, with there speculation to suggest that Luis Suarez and Luka Modric could tread a similar path. Williams is another hoping to cross the Atlantic at some stage, with the 29-year-old forward telling Claudio Bonus: “I'm certainly playing well at Bilbao but I would like one day, when I'm not so useful at Bilbao, to continue my career in the United States because it's a place where I would like to live for one or two years. God willing that I can be in MLS, or god willing that I cross paths with Leo again.”

Williams is currently in the States as part of the Ghana squad taking in friendly dates with Mexico and the USMNT and he added on following in the footsteps of all-time great Messi: “Leo plays great football, he's one of the greatest forwards in history.

The excitement he creates, his foundation, his legacy. We have all enjoyed him a lot, and now it's his turn to enjoy the United States. I believe each time people in the United States are going to drawn to the league here thanks to great players that are arriving and Leo is one of those. And god willing he can continue because that would be the greatest thing for football.”

Williams has spent his entire career to date tied to Athletic Club, as a Basque native, and is closing in on 400 appearances for the Liga outfit. Plenty of those saw him line up against Messi in the Argentine’s days at Barcelona, with there a chance that they could lock horns again at some point in the future.