The heroics of Lionel Messi proved to be the differentiating factor for the Albiceleste at the World Cup. The Argentine captain led his national team to glory on the global stage after a hiatus of 37 years. Following his World Cup victory in Qatar, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner claims he has won everything that the sport has to offer. At the end of the season, the former Barcelona superstar decided to part ways with the French giants, PSG.
The footballing world was taken aback when the news broke out about Messi joining David Beckham’s Inter Miami over his home club FC Barcelona and lucrative Saudi clubs. Along with the Argentine magic man, American soil is also going to be graced by one of the best defensive-minded players of the generation, Sergio Busquets. The former Barcelona teammates are all set to help Inter Miami reach glory. The big question arises, can the Barcelona duo help Inter Miami wake up from its slumbers?
Former Barcelona manager claims Lionel Messi not coming to Miami on vacation
In the past few days, the club’s hierarchy announced the appointment of former Mexico and FC Barcelona manager Tata Martino as the new head coach. The club’s hierarchy sacked their former manager Phil Neville after a string of losses. The Argentine coach has worked with Messi and Busquets before during his stint with Barcelona in the year 2013-14. In his first press conference as a head coach, talking about the ambition of his new signings, he said “Sometimes people hear Miami they think holidays. But these two players are not coming here for a vacation, they are here to work and compete and win. That is in their blood.”
The Argentine reiterated the fact that the Barcelona duo are here to win titles and achieve greater things with the club. He has set his sights on this year’s playoffs which seem far-fetched considering Miami sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference league and 11 points away from the playoff spots. Talking about aims for the season, Martino added “For 2023 there are nice challenges, one is to see if we can reach playoff positions, something that seems distant, but while we have possibilities, we will look for them.”
Messi and Co. to pull Inter Miami from rock bottom of MLS
Inter Miami are on a run of seven consecutive matches with just five wins in the whole Major Soccer League campaign. Although the arrival of Messi and Busquets has bought some optimism to Miami fans, the task to salvage anything from the season seems improbable. As things stand, their next match is against Austin on the 1st of July which proves to be a must-win match and they will be without the new arrivals.
Inter Miami has got a long way to go if they want to be anywhere near the playoff spots at the end of the season. The arrival of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets will surely going to be a boost for the club both on and off the pitch. Fans all around the world are excited to see this new journey of Lionel Messi’s folklore unfold.
