The Inter of Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets said goodbye to the season by falling 3-2 against Atlanta United on Saturday in the first round playoff match, opening a period of reflection and questions for the future of the franchise, which will participate in the new World Cup next summer. FIFA clubs.
The elimination of Miami, the best team in the regular phase with a points record, at the hands of Atlanta, ninth ranked in the Eastern Conference, It was the most unexpected end to Messi’s second campaign in the United States. For the 37-year-old Argentine star, it was one of his last opportunities to guide Inter Miami to the first North American League (MLS) title, a success that many consider crucial to popularizing soccer in the world’s largest sports market.
The debacle of the Miami team was so loud that as soon as the game ended Jordi Alba lost his nerve. «“You’re a shit, you’re a shit!”, the former Barcelona footballer vented. to the referee when the match concluded. «It’s a complicated day. We have to evaluate everything, but from within I think we have lacked more control, especially its cons. “I think we deserved more goals in the three games, especially in the second and third,” he explained later, calmer, to the press.
“We had the aspiration of being able to win but we have to congratulate the rival team and we have no choice but to assimilate everything that has happened, correct things and for the future I hope it will serve us,” he added resignedly.
Messi’s unfinished drive
Messi landed at the club in the middle of last year, when it was sunk in the pit of the MLS, and was able to immediately transform it until it won the first trophy in its history in the ‘Leagues Cup’.
In the 2023 MLS, Messi only played six games and could not work the miracle of qualifying Miami for the playoffs. All hopes were pinned on this campaign, in which Luis Suárez joined a quartet of former Barcelona glories along with the Argentine, Busquets and Jordi Alba.
The regular phase was a triumphant ride for Inter Miami And, in the middle of the year, Messi had another joy with Argentina winning the Copa América, in a final in which he suffered an ankle injury that left him out of action for two months. Even so, he added 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 games, boosting Inter’s record of 74 points and becoming a big favorite for the MVP.
Inter’s victory in the regular season, recognized with the Supporters’ Shield’ trophy, was also rewarded with a place in the new 2025 Club World Cup as a representative of the host country. The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, made the invitation public on the same grass of the Chase Stadium surrounded by David Beckham and the rest of the franchise owners. In addition, the opening match of the new 32-team championship will be held in Miami, the epicenter of the ambitious commitment to the take-off of soccer since the arrival of Messi.
At the end of 2025, the Rosario star’s contract with his current club expires but he has not ruled out extending it or getting ready for a sixth World Cup with Argentina in 2026.
Waiting for Neymar?
For the moment, Inter faces a period of three months without competition in which it must define the future of other key pieces of its project, starting with the continuity of coach Gerardo Martino and Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez themselves.
The Uruguayan forward arrived in Florida surrounded by doubts due to his age (37 years) and his history of injuries but finished the campaign as the second top scorer in the championship with 20 goals. In October, Suárez confirmed that he wants to extend his contract for another year but negotiations have not yet come to fruition.
The continuity of Jordi Alba, also outstanding this year at 35 years old, depends on the club exercising its option to renew him for another season.
The departure of Suárez or Alba (Busquets is committed until 2025 like Messi) could favor the arrival of some of the figures who are regularly linked to Inter Miami, the last of them being another old acquaintance of Messi, Brazilian Neymar.
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