Lionel Messi jogged a lap with his new teammates, took part in a warm up drill of players making short passes in a tight circle and before long tapped his left foot at a ball that wound up in the back of an open net. Inter Miami’s new star wasted no time fitting right in. The World Cup winner and seven-time Ballon d’Or recipient took part in a training session with his new Major League Soccer club for the first time, three days after signing a 2 1/2 year contract that’ll pay him between $50 million and $60 million a year.
A helicopter hovered overhead, drones buzzed around the field and about 200 media members lined up toward the back of the complex to get a look at Messi. He, like newly signed Sergio Busquets also a World Cup winner went through a welcome tunnel as part of the first practice, which meant jogging past teammates as they lined up and clapped.
Messi’s first match is expected to be Friday, a Leagues Cup contest at home against Cruz Azul. Some tickets are going for as little as $275 or so on the secondary market; some of the very best seats are exceeding $19,000. Prices have been fluctuating quite a bit and likely will continue doing so until game time. Such is the power of Messi.
Inter Miami hasn’t won an MLS match in more than two months; it has gone 0-8-3 in MLS play since beating New England on May 13. Making the playoffs are a long shot for Miami. But there is hope for other trophies, such as Leagues Cup a tournament between teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, with both leagues shutting down regular play for the competition and the U.S. Open Cup. Inter Miami is in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup; it’ll play Cincinnati in late August. The final of that tournament is in September.
