Out of sight, not exactly out of mind! Lionel Messi joined David Beckham’s Inter Miami in July last year and helped the club to its first-ever piece of silverware – the Leagues Cup – just over a month later. Co-owned by Manchester United’s former No. 7, the Herons have since experienced astonishing profile growth, shown in the new marketing and sponsorship opportunities taken by the Florida-based outfit and on their social media platforms. Prior to his arrival, which Messi announced a week before the club did, Inter Miami had just 2.5 million followers on Instagram. Today? 16.5 million! More important than that for us football fans, however, is the impact he’s had on the field alongside other star players such as Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez. How is he playing? And how does his presence at the MLS franchise influence the team’s results? Soccer Laduma’s Kurt Buckerfield tells you all you need to know.
Completing football on the biggest stage
Fans in South Africa have been used to watching Lionel Messi on their TV screens on a weekly basis, a privilege that ended when Argentina’s captain left Barcelona as a free agent to sign for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. From then, he was only accessible on UEFA Champions League nights and later at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Months following his famous success with the Albiceleste in Qatar, it was decided by Messi and his loved ones that the family would take David Beckham up on his lucrative and exciting offer, bidding farewell to Europe after 19 glorious years during which he claimed 37 club trophies for Barca and PSG, and scored 704 goals – three more than his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo in 96 fewer matches. Captaining Argentina to a Copa America triumph in 2021, ending his country’s 28-year trophy drought in the process, would have left Messi with the feeling that his mission was completed, but going all the way in the Middle East and dropping one of the greatest individual tournament performances ever seen allowed him to bow out at the highest level – at least when it comes to club football – in total peace.
