Lionel Messi returns for Inter Miami's final MLS match of 2023 - doing so highlights his commitment despite playoff disappointment

For Miami, the situation is simple: no result will be good enough. With their losses to the Chicago Fire and FC Cincinnati earlier this month, their hopes of a miracle run came crashing down.

At one point, there was reason to believe Miami may have had a shot. They were running through MLS, with Messi leading the charge. However, after Messi suffered an injury that kept him out of several key matches, Miami were toast as the club struggled to cope without their star.

Because of that, they'll watch the playoffs from home. Charlotte FC, though, have plenty to play for.

In order to have a chance, Charlotte FC will need to win on Saturday and hope for help elsewhere. They'll need some combination of CF Montreal, the New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire to slip up in order for them to book a postseason spot. That's because the second-year club failed to defeat Miami on Wednesday night, settling for just one point and leaving it all for Decision Day as a result.

Charlotte, of course, will have mixed feelings about Messi potentially playing. On one hand, it'll surely pack the stadium but, on the other, their chances of making the postseason will be slashed if they have to go toe-to-toe with the legendary Argentine.

Despite his injury issues, Messi was deemed fit enough to play against FC CIncinnati in a must-win game just before the international break. It wasn't enough. Messi looked nowhere near 100 percent as Miami fell, 1-0, to the Supporters' Shield winners.

Messi then jetted off to Argentina for World Cup qualifiers, playing 37 minutes against Paraguay before scoring twice against Peru. That Peru match showed that Messi was, at the very least, somewhat fit, definitely more so than he was in the early weeks of October.

On Wednesday, just 24 hours after scoring against Peru, he was in the stadium for Inter Miami's draw with Charlotte FC. And his presence reflected what he'd said earlier in the week: that he has every intention of playing that final game of the MLS season, playoffs or not.

“I will train, I will play our upcoming match [against Charlotte] and I will try to get [to the national team] in the best possible way for November," Messi said. "After that, I will enjoy the holidays in Argentina. It’s the first time that I am going to have more days off in December, with the holidays, with peace of mind, with my people. In January, I will return again to do preseason. Start from scratch and prepare as best as possible as always.”

As expected, after Wednesday's match, Inter Miami boss Gerardo 'Tata' Martino was asked about Messi's comments. The ex-Barcelona manager's response wasn't exactly confirmation, but he certainly didn't rule Messi out, either.

“I saw Leo’s interview, saw what he said, but I just had time to say hello to him [Wednesday] and we have not had time to talk,” Martino said. “The most important thing is the 90 minutes he played [for Argentina], that he felt well and played confidently and not worried about his injury.

"Sometimes your head plays games with you after injuries. Thursday we will see if he is also ready to play Saturday.”

Playing Messi on Saturday is risky, to say the least.

To begin with, he'll be on short rest after only recently flying back from two games in quick succession down in South America. It's a grueling schedule, for sure, especially for someone Messi's age and with as many miles in his legs as the Argentine has.

You can also add in the fact that Messi has only recently recovered from injury. That injury appeared to be minor when it was originally suffered during the September international break, and it appeared to be aggravated even further when Messi was rushed back against Toronto FC just a few days later.

And, finally, the turf. Charlotte FC's field isn't natural grass, but rather artificial turf. Historically, several of MLS' biggest stars have opted not to play on turf due to the risks that come with it, particularly for older players. Messi himself denied reports that he could sit out turf games, to be fair, but that doesn't lower the risk that comes with it.

So, to put it all together, you have a recently-recovered player playing on turf on short rest with absolutely nothing to gain playoff-wise? It seems crazy, but, to Messi, maybe it isn't.

On the field, there's no benefit. In the locker room, though, Messi playing would really, really mean something.

What an example that would be for Inter Miami's younger players, who would see their superstar showing up for work despite having no reason to. No one at the club would blame Messi if he were to sit this out, to rest and recover a bit after a long season. The fact that he doesn't want to do that speaks volumes about how he sees his role in this team.

It's the type of message that will carry over into next season, when Miami will make a real go of it. Messi already commands an unheard of amount of respect from his Inter Miami teammates. They've said he goes above and beyond to just be one of the guys, to not take advantage of the countless privileges he can no doubt benefit from if he were to choose to.

The fact that he is, at the very least, willing to step in for the team when there is no personal reward for himself or others speaks to his competitiveness, and that's the type of thing that will multiply throughout the locker room. If Messi can lay it all on the line for the team, so can everyone else. The expectation is being set with Messi leading the charge personally.

Asking to play also speaks to Messi's understanding of his place in American soccer. He's shied away from talk of a responsibility to the American public, saying that he only worried about taking care of his team. He was, at one point, criticized for not traveling to an away match in Atlanta that he wouldn't be playing in due to injury.

Showing up, however, shows that Messi is beginning to understand, not just what he means to Inter Miami and not just what he means to MLS, but to American soccer. Thousands of fans may get the experience of a lifetime if Messi is to play, no matter how many minutes it is.

Inter Miami are facing a long offseason, but Messi seems content to set a tone for himself and his club as he nears the final stage of this first half-season in America.

There is another side of it, too, though: the Argentina side.

Messi will have two more games on his schedule before closing the book on 2023: World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil in November. Those are two tough matches against the best CONMEBOL has to offer and, no matter what happens, he'll have a significant break ahead of them.

Argentina won't face Uruguay until November 16, meaning Messi will go nearly a month without playing in a competitive match. Fortunately, Inter Miami have scheduled two friendlies in China in between, giving the club a chance to market themselves abroad while also giving Messi a chance to get some sort of time on the field ahead of qualifiers.

After those two matches Uruguay and Brazil, Messi will get some much-deserved time to relax. It'll be more than he'll have wanted, for sure, as Miami had legitimate MLS Cup hopes, but, after a punishing schedule with PSG, Argentina and Inter Miami that included a World Cup, a Champions League run, the Leagues Cup, the U.S. Open Cup, etc, over the last year, Messi can use a break.

We'll see him again in 2024 for the start of the MLS season. By that point, he'll surely be rested and ready to go, eager to once again lead the charge from the front for Inter Miami.