When do Lionel Messi and Inter Miami start playing in 2024? MLS, CONCACAF Champions Cup…

Things were going oh so well for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. Immediately after joining the Florida side, the Argentina captain inspired a run of nine wins in a row (including penalty shoot-outs) and scored 10 goals in his first seven appearances for the club. The Herons won the 2023 Leagues Cup, reached the final of the US Open Cup and embarked on an unbeaten run in MLS which appeared destined to end in qualification for the MLS Cup Playoffs. One injury to Messi during the September international break, however, and it all came crashing down.

Inter Miami’s MLS Cup Playoffs hopes over

Saturday’s home defeat to FC Cincinnati extended Inter Miami’s winless run to five matches (including a cup final loss to Houston Dynamo) and officially ended their hopes of finishing in the Eastern Conference’s top nine, with eighth and ninth playing off to qualify for Round One of the Playoffs. After missing four matches because of a scar tissue injury, Messi came off the bench against The Orange and Blue but couldn’t inspire his team to the win they needed to keep their slim hopes alive.

MLS dead rubbers against Charlotte FC

The Herons still have two MLS regular season matches left, both against Charlotte FC (at home on 18 October, away on 21 October), but they are dead rubbers, with nothing to play for. In less than two weeks, Messi and Miami will be putting their feet up and watching on from afar as the MLS Cup Playoffs take place between 25 October and 9 December.

The Herons’ failure to qualify means the former Barcelona star and his teammates have missed out on up to seven weeks of action, and it will be several months until we see them back on the field after that final match at Bank of America Stadium.

When does the 2024 MLS season start?

No date has yet been set for the start of MLS’ 2024 season, although it is likely to begin in late February or early March (the 2023 campaign kicked off on 25 February). There is a chance, however, that it could get underway slightly earlier as MLS is expected to vote to change its schedule and pause during FIFA’s international breaks. That could see the season start and/or finish later, which we should find out in late December (the 2023 schedule was published on 22 December last year).

When does the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup start?

However, Inter Miami’s campaign might well start before then. By winning the Leagues Cup, they have qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, known until now as the CONCACAF Champions League. 2023 apart, the tournament has traditionally begun before the MLS season, although the new expanded format means it is difficult to compare next year’s competition with previous editions.

Could Messi play for Barcelona or in Saudi Arabia during the offseason?

Messi, now seemingly recovered, is currently on international duty with Argentina and after facing Paraguay and Peru this week, will also be expected to take on Uruguay and Brazil in the November international break.

The 36-year-old, however, is set for up to four months without playing club soccer, which has already seen him linked with a return to former club Barcelona on loan in the offseason, while the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and PIF - the sovereign wealth fund of the country - are reportedly “exploring the opportunity” to strike a similar deal that would see the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner play in the Gulf state before MLS 2024 begins.

Too much soccer may well have contributed to Messi’s recent injury issues, but could the prospect of too little soccer see him leave Miami, albeit temporarily?