- Argentine icon has moved to America
- Ready to open a new chapter in his career
- Following in footsteps of other World Cup winners
WHAT HAPPENED? The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has become a marquee addition for the Florida-based franchise co-owned by Manchester United legend David Beckham and is set to make his debut for new employers in a Leagues Cup clash with Cruz Azul on Friday. The ex-Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward will get to play on grass at Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium, but a number of MLS sides – including the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, Atlanta United, New England Revolution and Charlotte FC – play on hybrid pitches that combine grass with reinforced roots and synthetic fibres.
WHAT THEY SAID: Such surfaces have been known to cause injury problems in the past, especially for those unaccustomed to playing on them, but MLS commissioner Don Garber has told The Athletic when asked if clubs could replace their pitches in the wake of Messi’s arrival in America: “That’s going to be the decision of every club when they do travel to those stadiums that don’t have natural grass. My expectations are that that’s what they will do, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to figure all of that out. MLS promotes a lot of international games and we have been able to bring natural grass into those stadiums, but we’ve never done that for a regular season game.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: While MLS is doing everything it can to make Messi as comfortable as possible in the United States, Garber is eager to point out that fellow World Cup winners before him – such as French and Brazilian icons Thierry Henry and Kaka – had no trouble playing on artificial pitches. He added: “I think a lot of international stars come into Major League Soccer and they are either intrigued or concerned about not playing on grass. And then you see some of the best players who’ve ever played the game, the Henrys of the world and Kakas of the world, who played on turf. So I think that’s a process that will have to play out over time.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT? Messi has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Inter Miami, taking him through to the end of the MLS season in 2025, with the option there for all parties to agree an extension for 2026 should they wish to do so – with the Argentine icon having suggested that he will not take part in the U.S. co-hosted World Cup finals that year.