Superstar Lionel Messi ended nearly two months away from football, after returning to the US to prepare for the new season with Inter Miami.
Messi’s family left Argentina on the evening of January 6, and landed in Florida the next day. He is preparing to return to training, but has to wait until January 19 to play his first match. Miami is scheduled to meet El Salvador, then play Hong Kong, Vissel Kobe, FC Dallas and Newell’s Old Boys.
Messi, his wife Antonella and three sons posted a photo to wish a happy new year on January 1, 2024. Photo: IGNV
After that, Messi and his teammates will go to Saudi Arabia to attend the Riyadh Cup friendly tournament against Al Hilal and Al Nassr. The long-awaited competition between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will take place on February 1 in Riyadh.
Miami players are also waiting for Messi to return to practice with them. Striker Nicolas Stefanelli said that he once drooled when he saw the Argentine captain’s talent on Miami’s training ground. “There are times when Messi is standing with his back turned, but can still pass back to his teammates,” Stefanelli said on Fox Sports . “I wondered how Messi passes the ball like that. And that’s why he’s the best in the world.”
The last time Messi played took place on November 21, 2023, when Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in South America. Since then, he and his family have traveled to many places, including Morocco. For the first time since playing professional football, he has had such a long break , because the American professional tournament takes place in one calendar year, while Miami cannot enter the play-off round.
Messi bought a villa for 10.8 million USD in the city of Fort Lauderdale, only 15 minutes by car from Inter Miami’s home stadium. His new place is 975 square meters, with 10 bedrooms, a spa room, two boat docks, a swimming pool and a three-car garage.
Miami will participate in many tournaments in 2024, in addition to MLS, the Leagues Cup, US Open Cup and North Central American C1 Cup. They have four former Barca stars, in addition to Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker is a close friend of Messi, and just joined the team late last year.
