Lionel Messi, an Argentine football star, has decided to spend the last few years of his career in the United States. This is a huge disappointment for Barcelona fans who had hoped he would return to the club that gave him his start.

Messi, who is 35 years old, will be following in the footsteps of other greats of the “Beautiful Game” by playing in leagues that aren’t as well known but pay well.

Here are four examples from AFP Sport:

Pele played for the New York Cosmos (USA) from 1975 to 1977

Henry Kissinger, who was US Secretary of State at the time, persuaded the man, who is up there with Messi and Maradona as one of the best ever, to join the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1975.

“They want to make soccer a big deal in the United States,” Pele told CNN in 2011.

“I went because of that. I began my journey.”

At 34 years old at the time, he sparked a lot of attention, and the number of people who came to see him went up.

Before he came, less than 10,000 people went to each Cosmos game on average. After he came, that number jumped to over 40,000. Pele enjoyed the New York scene, but he didn’t forget about his job on the field. He helped the team win the Football Bowl in 1977.

Franz Beckenbauer and George Best joined the NASL after he said it was a good idea. Unfortunately, the league failed in 1984.

Gabriel Batistuta — Al Arabi (QAT) 2003-05

The Argentine striker went to the low-key Q-League on a free move and, according to reports, got paid $8 million to play for Al Arabi.

Batigol’s knack for putting the ball in the back of the net, which he showed while playing for Serie A teams Fiorentina and Roma, did not leave him in Doha. In his first season with the team, he set a record by scoring 25 goals.

Batistuta, Pep Guardiola, Frank de Boer, and Marcel Desailly all helped raise Qatar’s football reputation. This may have been an important first step in Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

Zico — Kashima Antlers (JPN) 1991-94

He was Brazil’s sports minister for a while because of how well he did on the field, but he left that job to play for a second-tier Japanese team when he was in his early forties.

The goal was to get them into the first professional league in Japan, which was set to start its first season in 1993.

Even though he was in his early 40s, the Brazilian helped them get promoted and then finish second in the J League. The club’s name was changed to Kashima Antlers.

Outside Kashima’s stadium is a statue of him, and he takes great pride in the success of Japanese football since then. This month, the Urawa Red Diamonds won their third Asian Champions League title.

Zico told FIFA.com in December of last year, “We had to start from scratch and find the right direction.”

“And look at Japan today. Since professional soccer started there, they haven’t missed a single World Cup. That makes me happy.”

David Beckham — LA Galaxy (USA) 2007-2012

It was a big deal when, at age 32, the MLS team signed a player who was probably the most famous player in European football. This ended his time as one of Real Madrid’s Galacticos.

Beckham’s five-year contract, which pays him $6.5 million a year, helped Galaxy get a new shirt deal and see a huge increase in season ticket sales.

But the clause that said he could buy an MLS team in the future for a set price of $25 million, except for New York, was much more important to the former England star.

He did the right thing by buying Inter Miami in 2014.

Beckham said when he signed with Galaxy, “I’m not saying that my coming to the U.S. will make soccer the most popular sport in the U.S.”

“But I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think it could make a difference.”

Beckham helped Galaxy win two MLS Cups before he went back to play football in Europe, this time with Paris Saint-Germain.

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