Lionel Messi confirms he will play Inter Miami’s last game of the season

Lionel Messi has confirmed that he will play Inter Miami’s final game of the 2023 MLS season, against Charlotte.

Argentina completed yet another perfect international break as they overcame both Paraguay and Perú. In the second game, Messi returned as the hero of the albiceleste and played 90 minutes in the CONMEBOL qualifier.

The 7-time Ballon d’Or winner scored two goals as his side overcame their South American rivals to continue their winning streak as well as put themselves top of the leaderboard and the race for World Cup qualification.

‘I’ll play the game that’s coming up now’ - Messi

After the game, Messi immediately changed his mentality and went back to focusing on club football with Inter Miami. The forward, in an interview with TyC Sports, assured that he would indeed feature in The Herons’ final game of the MLS season, and that he would continue to feature for the side in order to stay fit and firing ahead of two crunch games for Argentina, against Uruguay and Brazil.

“I’ll train, I’ll play the game that’s coming up now and I’ll try to get to November in the best way possible if I can be back again. After that I’ll enjoy a holiday in Argentina, which is the first time that I’m going to have a lot of calm holidays in December, with my people. And then, in January, I’ll go back to pre-season”, said Messi.

Inter Miami will travel to China in November for a pair of friendly games; in 2024, the club will also play against Messi’s boyhood club, Newell’s Old Boys.

Missing out on playoffs “a shame”, says Messi

The Herons’ captain was sad that his club side were ultimately unable to achieve the playoffs in the table and that he missed out on the matches, as he could have been a key part of the side.

“The truth is that it’s a shame, we were very close. I missed the last few games, we had various injuries. July was tough for us, we played once every three days. We travelled a lot, but we got an important trophy for the club.”