"I made the decision that I'm going to go to Miami. I still haven't closed it 100%," Messi said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo and Sport newspapers.
"I'm still missing a few things, but we decided to go ahead. If Barcelona didn't work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family."
Messi, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December and has earned a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, won the Ligue 1 title in his two seasons with PSG as well as the French Super Cup in 2022.
The Argentinean revealed that his initial goal was to re-sign for Barcelona, but in the end, he decided to move to the States.
"I really wanted to come back, I was really looking forward to it," continued Messi.
"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.
"Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to want to win and to always do things well. But with more peace of mind.
"If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me. The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money”.
The MLS said it was pleased that Messi intends to join Inter Miami this summer.
"Although work remains to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time to our League," MLS said in a statement.