Soccer superstar Lionel Messi’s American advent became one of the biggest sports galas lately. The Argentinean legend’s Inter Miami debut was attended by the likes of LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes and others. The celeb-cheerleaders and A-listers were in awe of Leo’s US arrival. But now, his former teammate is only leaving some NBA stars in utter disbelief. The Akron Hammer even brought out his creativity to react to the eye-popping deal to the French footballer.

The Portugal soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo became the first among the global soccer stars to sign up in a Saudi Arabian team. He signed up for a 2.5 year contract with Al Nassr for $75 million per year. Reportedly, it could go up to $200 million per year with endorsements. Following Ronaldo, a Saudi team offered Messi a $1 billion contract, which he refused to sign. And now, the French sensation is only following suit.

Kylian Mbappe leaves LeBron James in utter disbelief 

The farthest an NBA contract had reached was $276 million signed by Denver Nuggets‘ Nikola Jokic. It’s reasonable that the NBA stars react shockingly to an eye-popping soccer deal. In response to the deal, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo shared a selfie on his IG handle, asked to hand over the $770 million contract, saying he looks like Mbappe.

Dec 2, 2022; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) exchange hugs after the Los Angeles Lakers 133-129 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

Moments after the trade offer went viral, James took to his Twitter with a hilarious meme. He shared a GIF from the film, Forest Gump, where Tom Hanks runs hysterically out of his house. Along with the clip, he wrote, “Me headed to Saudi when they call @RichPaul4 & @mavcarter for that 1 year deal!”

Following James, several other NBA stars like Damian Lillard, Draymond Green and other also joined in to react to the offer.

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However, fans didn’t find the 4x NBA Champion’s meme funny.

Fans erupt after James’ hilarious meme

In response to the meme, thousands of fans swarmed the comments, roasting and calling out the superstar. One user said, “If Saudi starts paying attention to basketball, the NBA would be COOKED. In America, athletes only care about making as much money as possible. They could care less about winning.” 

Some sections of fans took the humor lightly, as they further made memes to match up to James’ energy.

While James apparently tweeted in a lighter vein, the fan reaction made it even more amusing.

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But whether or not Saudi casts its shadow on the court, what’s certain is an action-packed upcoming season sparked off by the offseason buzz and blitz.