Lionel Messi & Luis Suarez looking 'like they did in Barcelona’ despite going goalless through two games at the start of Inter Miami’s 2024 pre-season

The Florida-based outfit have yet to find the net in their preparations for the 2024 MLS campaign, with blanks drawn in a stalemate with El Salvador and narrow defeat to FC Dallas. Messi and Suarez, having been reunited in the United States, figured in both of those contests.

They have seen sights of goal, with Messi almost scoring direct from a corner against Dallas, but are waiting on a first collective effort alongside fellow former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. While they are not firing on all cylinders just yet, those around them claim to have seen enough to suggest that it is merely a matter of time before they burst into life.

Inter Miami teenager Ruiz, who is getting to rub shoulders with all-time greats, has said of taking inspiration from some of the very best to have ever played the game: “I am learning from the way they combine, like they did in Barcelona, how they read each other and how they get to the final third.”

Honduras international midfielder Ruiz, who enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2023, added on Inter Miami’s efforts to become more potent in the final third: “We are trying to keep as many players up high as we can, in the area, to finish, and we are working to improve that every day. We feel we are prepared, getting minutes in the pre-season to get ready for the season ahead.”

Inter Miami are now preparing to head for Saudi Arabia as their gruelling schedule of friendlies continues. They are due to face Al-Hilal while in the Middle East, while also locking horns with Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr in the Riyadh Cup.