In a climate of growing expectation, the Argentine star Lionel Messi trained this Friday at his new club, Inter Miami, awaiting his official presentation this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. in Argentina at the Drive Pink Stadium, the home of the franchise. located in Fort Lauderdale, which will receive more than 20,000 fans to welcome soccer in the United States.
Before formalizing their bond, Messi already joined the routine of the team technically led by another Argentine, Gerardo Martino, with whom he will join again in the same squad, after “Tata” passed through Barcelona during the 2013-2014 season. in which they crowned the title of the Spanish Super Cup.
The world champion with the Argentine National Team in Qatar 2022 will sign a two-year contract with the Miami entity, plus a third party option, according to some details that emerge from the agreement to be finalized in the next few hours.
At 36, the “Albiceleste” captain landed in Major League Soccer in search of peace of mind, after two stressful seasons at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), where he won three titles: Ligue 1 2022, 2023 and the Super Cup from France in the first year.
Sunday’s gala, called “The Unveil” (El Develar), will be an impressive American-style ceremony with strong musical presences, including Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny and Colombians Shakira and Maluma. The organization is also working on the possible presence of the Argentine Abel Pintos, a voice admired by the Messi family.
The show, which also includes a series of launches involving the club itself and the US league, will bring together more than 20,000 fans of the Florida franchise in an event that promises to live up to a historic day for sports in North America.
Regarding the landing of the world soccer star on US soil, the Argentine Gabriel Gabor, spokesman for Major League Soccer in the state of Florida and responsible for the league’s International Public Relations, spoke with Télam hours after the presentation.
“This is a transcendental moment for MLS and for soccer in general in the United States. There are very few moments in the history of our competition that are remembered as this unparalleled event as the arrival of Lionel Messi in the league. We can only compare so much euphoria when Pelé came to play for the Cosmos or in the case of David Beckham in the Los Angeles Galaxy,” he said.
The Brazilian legend played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) with the New York Cosmos between 1975 and 1977, while the British midfielder landed in contemporary Major League Soccer on three occasions (2007-2008, 2009 and 2010-2012) to play in the Californian set.
“But Messi broke all the expectations around his appearance in the MLS. The difference is that he won the World Cup very recently and is still in the popular clamor of people around the world,” Gabor rescues.
“And another of the big differences with the other soccer geniuses who played in the United States is the explosion of social networks, where today you can know everything instantly, from your arrival in the country to what you are doing on a day-to-day basis. “adds one of the people in charge of communication in the MLS.
The sporting news of Inter Miami is worrying this season, since it is last in the standings, with 18 points (five wins, 13 losses and three draws) in the Eastern Conference. The team began the league under the management of Gary Neville, who went away with a record of ten falls and five wins during the course of his third season at the club. In his replacement, the Argentine Javier Morales, Neville’s technical assistant, took over, with a brief tour in office, leaving him with three defeats and three draws.
Inter Miami will visit this Saturday at 9:30 p.m. Saint Louis Soccer Club, leader of the Western Conference at City Park for the 21st round of the MLS. With the positive effect of Messi’s arrival, the Florida franchise is confident that it will start to recover before his long-awaited debut.