MLS
Will Luis Suárez play in the Inter Miami - NYCFC tribute to Messi for the Ballon d’Or?
As a tribute to Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or award, Inter Miami will play a friendly match against New York City FC at DRV PNK Stadium with historic trophy be presented to fans pregame.
Following the cancellation of their planned two game Chinese tour, Inter Miami have scheduled a friendly game against MLS rivals NYCFC in a match billed as ‘Noche d’Or’.
The match will serve as a tribute to striker and captain Lionel Messi winning his world-record eighth Ballon d’Or award with the game scheduled for 10, November at 8pm ET at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s game, Inter Miami’s Argentine coach Tata Martino confirmed that since it is a celebration of Lionel Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or, the Argentine will play a part in the game against New York City FC. However, he also added that the striker is unlikely to see out the entire 90 minutes of the match as he will travel to Argentina next week ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
As the club prepare for the big night, the MLS side continue to work on future planning with Martino and Inter Miami working ahead of the 2024 season. As part of their preparations, the club intend to carry out a long pre-season of at least 40 days, in which they will look to play some friendly matches abroad.
With the club letting striker Josef Martinez leave after the end of the season, everything points to Grêmio striker Luis Suárez moving to the South Florida club. AS understands that Inter Miami are making plans to welcome the 36-year-old to Florida in December, ahead of the start of the 2024 MLS season early next year.
Suarez at Noche d’Or?
The Uruguayan forward is contracted to Grêmio and the side from Porto Alegre are still in with a tilt at the Brazilian Serie A title as the season winds down. El Tricolor face leaders Botafogo on Thursday with the side from Rio slipping up in recent weeks and blowing the title race wide open.
Suarez will be in action again for the Brazilian side as they face Corinthians on Sunday and as a consequence will play no role in Messi’s Noche d’Or celebration on Friday night.