How Inter Miami will line up with Lionel Messi in the team

GOAL breaks down what Inter Miami could look like with the Argentine star in their XI after he confirmed his plans to move to the 305.

Inter Miami have done the hard part: they've figured out a way to sign Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer of all time, convincing him to turn down Saudi Arabia's money, Barcelona's competitiveness and Argentina's romanticism. All of the hard work, the years of negotiating, was all finally worth it. With a World Cup trophy in hand, Messi is set to arrive in North America, and he'll spend the next few years of his career - perhaps the last few - on South Beach.

Now, though, Miami can move on to their next problem: figuring out what to do with a player that can do so much.

Messi joins a Miami team that is far from the finished product. The team currently has no permanent manager and sits bottom of the Eastern Conference. There are key injuries all over the field and, unless you're a die-hard fan of American soccer, there will be few familiar faces in the starting XI.

That could change, but it will take time to build a team worthy of Messi. For now, though, it does look like the Argentine icon will have a lot of work to do.

With that in mind, GOAL breaks down the players that could line up alongside Messi, both now and in the future.

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GK: Drake Callender
The 25-year-old goalkeeper has some U.S. men's national team experience, although he has yet to earn his first cap. He was called up for the upcoming Nations League semifinals, having established himself as a solid young goalkeeper in MLS.
Callender has been with the club since 2020, but didn't become a starter until 2022. He hasn't looked back since, making 47 appearances in all competitions for the club.

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RB: DeAndre Yedlin
A longtime USMNT star, Yedlin has been to two World Cups with the U.S. while earning 78 senior caps.
He previously played for Tottenham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Galatasaray before arriving back in MLS in 2022 after eight years abroad.
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CB: Kamal Miller
A full Canadian international who was a key player at the World Cup, Miller was an MLS All-Star for CF Montreal last season.
He was acquired in a trade earlier this year, with Miami receiving the Canadian and $1.3 million in General Allocation Money in exchange for attackers Bryce Duke and Ariel Lassiter.

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CB: Serhiy Kryvtsov
With 30 Ukraine caps to his name, Kryvtsov is the definition of a veteran.
He was previously a regular for Ukrainian powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk, where he won seven league titles while featuring in the Champions League.
He signed with Miami in January and has been a regular starter ever since.
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LB: Franco Negri
An Argentine veteran who, coincidentally, once played for Messi's childhood club, Newell's Old Boys.
After coming through at San Lorenzo, Negri spent the entirety of his career in Argentina before joining Miami in 2023 on a two-year deal. He's played for the likes of Newell's, Belgrano and Godoy Cruz throughout his career.
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CM: Dixon Arroyo
A 31-year-old veteran, the Ecuadorian midfielder has been a regular since joining in April due to midfield injury issues.
He previously played for Independiente del Valle and Emelec in his home country and has featured for Ecuador's senior team.
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CM: David Ruiz
A young, homegrown midfielder who has been thrust into the XI due to injuries.
Just 19 years old, Ruiz is the youngest player to record a goal and an assist, with both coming in a match against the New England Revolution that also saw him sent off.
Internationally, Ruiz represents Honduras at youth level.
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RW: Corentin Jean
A 27-year-old former stalwart of French soccer, Jean played for the likes of Monaco, Troyes, Toulouse and Lens before signing with Miami in 2022.
He was a member of Monaco's 2016-17 Ligue 1-winning team, although he only made five total appearances that season.
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LW: Robert Taylor
The winger/defender has 28 caps to his name for Finland and has experience playing in England as well as Scandinavia.
He joined Miami in 2022 on a two-year deal and has been a regular ever since with four goals and four assists on his resume.
Mexican international Rodolfo Pizarro is one player that could also start in this position, although he's a prime candidate to leave the club should a spot need to be cleared for a big signing.
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AM: Lionel Messi
The man of the hour.
Messi could be deployed in a variety of positions, and we'll get to that later, but for the purpose of this exercise, we'll put him in as a No.10. He won't have many, if any, defensive duties and he'll be able to dictate the play, so this is what makes most sense as things stand.
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ST: Leonardo Campana
A rising star in MLS and with the Ecuador national team, Campana has the potential to be a mainstay for years to come.
The 22-year-old striker joined on loan from Wolves last season before signing permanently in January after an 11-goal campaign.
Internationally, he has ten caps for Ecuador and was part of their 2021 Copa America squad.
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Missing pieces
Miami find themselves bottom of the East due to several reasons, but one of the biggest is certainly their injury issues.
The club is missing two key players in the midfield due to long-term injuries, and their season has been a struggle because of it. Captain Gregore has been joined on the treatment table by Jean Mota, robbing the team of two starting pieces.
The absence of Gregore, in particular, has been felt, and it will be felt for nearly the entirety of the season. The Brazilian is expected to be out until at least September, making it questionable that he even returns during this 2023 campaign.
When all fit, Miami's line-up would look vastly different to the one listed above, but the sad truth is that this team won't be fully available for quite some time.
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Other tactical options
While the 4-2-3-1 is certainly one option tactically, Inter Miami could go in several other directions to accommodate Messi.
He could be deployed on the right, much as he has for most of his career, although that would leave Yedlin without much help defensively on that flank. Doing so, though, could get an extra midfielder on the pitch to counteract those defensive issues.
Messi could also start as a No.10 with two strikers ahead of him, providing the opportunity to put both Campana and Josef Martinez on the field to benefit from Messi's magic. It would be hard to argue against that being one of the best attacks in MLS, although it would surely sacrifice a lot of width.
Miami could also deploy a five-at-the-back system to get another defensive body on the field, taking a bit more pressure off Messi to track back in the summer heat.
The decision will ultimately lie with whomever is named the next coach and will also depend on what this team looks like by the end of the transfer window...
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Big names linked
It didn't take long for the rumor mill to go crazy. We'll call it the 'Messi effect'. For as long as the Argentine is in MLS, every big name on the market will be linked with Inter Miami.
Who wouldn't want to play with Messi? And who wouldn't want to live in the South Beach sun? The question is how many they can actually sign.
They'll have to pick their spots due to MLS roster rules, and there's reason to believe that this team could look vastly different by the time the 2024 season starts. Miami has already been linked with several of Messi's former teammates, including Luis Suarez, Angel Di Maria, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Antoine Griezmann.
Many of these rumors will be fictitious, but some could come to fruition as Miami looks to build a star-studded cast around their new leading man.
From now on, Miami will be a major player in the global transfer market. The Messi signing is their big introduction to the rest of the world; now, it's up to them to put the right pieces around him to truly contend for the MLS Cup everyone involved will expect during the Argentine's tenure.