'Gives us extra motivation' - Rodrigo De Paul believes Lionel Messi's announced extension sparked Inter Miami to Game 1 win over Nashville SC

With Messi's future secured, Inter Miami now carry momentum - and confidence - and aim to make noise in the playoffs. De Paul underscored the importance of Messi’s contract renewal for the locker room’s morale.

“Knowing we’ll be together for a few more years gives us extra motivation,” De Paul said. “We just have to keep enjoying him.”

“It makes me really happy to see what he’s doing...There will never be another like him. Having him on my team every week is an advantage.”

Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano also praised Messi’s impact after his two-goal showing in the playoff opener against Nashville SC. While concerns arose over a possible back injury, Mascherano downplayed them, saying too much was made of Messi’s brief absence from training. Messi showed no signs of slowing down on the pitch, guiding Miami to a crucial home win that places them on the brink of advancing to the second round.

“Everything that happens around Leo always takes on a bigger scale,” Mascherano said postmatch. “Sometimes there’s a lot of noise around him, so we preferred to protect him. At this stage of the season, less can be more - it’s about making sure he doesn’t take unnecessary risks and that any discomfort doesn’t get worse.”

Mascherano also confirmed that Messi’s contract extension had been agreed upon for some time, even if it hadn’t been made official until recently.

“The club and Leo decided to make it formal before the playoffs to focus fully on the sporting side,” he said. “We were calm, because even if it wasn’t announced, it was already agreed.”

The coach acknowledged that Miami struggled early in the match, especially with their high pressing, but praised his team for adapting quickly.

“It took us a bit to get our pressing right, but as the minutes went by, the boys adjusted really well,” he said. “In fact, the first goal comes from pressure, with Tadeo [Allende] winning the ball and allowing us to break quickly.”