Many of the 72,610 who filled Arrowhead Stadium to see Messi weren’t disappointed as he delivered deft passes to create scoring chances — and had a highlight-reel goal.

Messi’s left-footed blast from the top of the penalty arc pushed Miami CF (4-2-3) in front 2-1 in the 51st minute. It was his fourth straight MLS game with a goal.

“It was an amazing goal,” Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi said. “He does this all the time, so it doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s normal from a guy like him.”

With Inter Miami CF trailing 1-0 in the 18th minute, Messi assisted on Diego Gómez’s first-touch right-footer in the middle of the box to tie it.

“The pass that Messi makes and the second goal, the ball that he hits where he hits it from, you don’t see that much in the MLS,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “They can punish you.”

After a defensive mistake by Sporting KC, Suárez converted Gómez’s crossing pass inside the 6-yard box for the lead. It was Suárez’s team-leading sixth of the season and tied him for the league lead.

“We lost the ball three times,” Vermes said. “And they have the quality that when you do, they can punish you.”

Inter Miami CF leads the MLS in goals, with 19, and in assists, with 29.

Messi had an excellent chance in the 27th minute on a left-footer from 12 yards, but it was smothered by Kansas City’s Tim Melia.

Messi’s free kick in the 41st minute from 25 yards barely missed wide right.

“Unbelievable player and he can create something out of thin air,” Sporting KC forward Daniel Salloi said. “It was a great experience to play against these guys.”

Erik Thommy opened the scoring for Sporting KC (2-2-4) in the sixth minute on a 16-yard strike. He scored again in the 58th minute on a rebound off Salloi’s corner kick to tie it at 2.

Thommy’s goals were his second and third of the season — and first since opening day.

“I had to take the risk, on the corner,” Thommy said. “I had the confidence and had a good feeling.”

The crowd was 20,000 larger than the previous Sporting KC record set in 2010 during a friendly against Manchester United.

“The environment was out of this world fantastic,” Vermes said. “This was incredible.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Sporting KC midfielder Remy Walter left in first-half stoppage time with a lower leg injury.

UP NEXT

Inter Miami FC: hosts Nashville SC on April 20.

Sporting KC: hosts St. Louis City SC on April 20.

CONCACAF, the regional governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, cited unspecified incidents that occurred after Miami’s 2-1 loss. CONCACAF did not detail the amount of the fine in its announcement Wednesday.

The team led by Lionel Messi was eliminated 5-2 on aggregate following a 3-1 loss Wednesday night in Mexico.

“The committee has warned Inter Miami CF that more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during their future matches in CONCACAF club competitions,” the governing body said.

Messi scored shortly after checking in to begin the second half and helped set up Leo Afonso’s go-ahead score two minutes later. But Cole Bassett scored in the 88th minute for the Colorado Rapids and the game ended in a 2-2 tie on Saturday night.

It was Messi’s first appearance for Inter Miami since a hamstring issue led to him getting subbed out early in the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Nashville on March 13. He had missed four Inter Miami games since, plus two games with Argentina.

He wasted little time announcing his return Saturday. Messi’s fourth goal in as many MLS matches this season came in the 58th minute, beating Colorado keeper Zach Steffen with a low shot that hit the left goalpost, then skidded back across the goal mouth before settling into the next just inside of the right post.

“The most important thing was that he was feeling well and feeling comfortable,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said of Messi. “It’s sad to give up two goals but we continue to make mistakes that cost us points. … It has to do with not reading the game right, not reading the moment, and it cost us.”

Not long after play resumed, Messi sent a pass to David Ruiz, who found Afonso all alone in front. Afonso put it home for his first MLS goal, giving Inter Miami the lead.

It didn’t last. Bassett knotted things late in regulation and Inter Miami (3-2-3) had to settle for just one point instead of three. Rafael Navarro got the first goal for Colorado (2-2-3), scoring late in the first half on a penalty kick.

A pair of fans got onto the field in the final minutes in separate incidents, presumably to try to get a selfie with Messi. They were both quickly escorted off by security, and time expired shortly after the second fan got onto the pitch.

It was a costly night for Inter Miami, which has been besieged by injuries — going back all the way to the team’s seven-match, around-the-world preseason tour — and now has more of those to deal with. The team was without seven players Saturday, plus lost Leo Campana late in the first half with what appeared to be a hamstring issue and Afonso a few minutes after his second-half goal.

Messi and his three former standout Barcelona teammates — Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — were all available Saturday, though none started. It’s a clear sign that Inter Miami is trying to be cautious with workloads for its four oldest players, all of them age 35 or older. Alba and Busquets entered in the second half.

“We needed Busi to have fewer minutes,” Martino said.

Afonso was scheduled to play the full match, Martino added, but the injury changed that and plans were quickly switched out of necessity.

Inter Miami is in a stretch where it will play five matches in a span of 15 days. The team had a 1-1 draw with New York City FC on March 30, lost the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup matchup 2-1 to Monterrey at home on Wednesday and hosted the Rapids on Saturday. It then goes to Mexico for the second leg of the CONCACAF series this coming Wednesday before finishing the stretch at Kansas City on April 13.

Playing on Saturday would indicate Messi should be able to play in the Monterrey rematch, Martino said.

Messi emerged from the bench area in the 35th minute to start warming up behind one of the end lines, the mere sight of him sending fans into a frenzy.

They almost missed a Miami goal at the other end.

Simultaneous to the initial Messi sighting, Julian Gressel found a bit of room and fired a 30-yarder from straightaway. The ball curled just left, keeping the match scoreless.

A few minutes later, that changed. Colorado’s Kevin Cabral got taken down in the box — a few yards from where Messi was going through his warmup routine — and Navarro beat Inter Miami goalie Drake Callender with the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.

“He’s back,” the team wrote in a social media post Friday.

Messi has missed Inter Miami’s last four games, including one Wednesday when the club wasted a 1-0 lead and lost 2-1 to Mexico’s Monterrey in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal. Tensions boiled over after that physical game, with members of both teams — Messi included — involved in a postgame shouting match near the locker room area at Chase Stadium.

Inter Miami finished that game a man down, leading to Monterrey’s comeback.

“We know what those matches represent. They are played with intensity,” Inter Miami assistant coach Javi Morales said Friday. “But the truth is, the most important thing happened on the field. We played against a great rival. Yes, unfortunately when we went down to 10 players we did not maintain the result. But now we have to go to Monterrey and try to do it in the best way to be able to advance.”

The second leg of the Miami-Monterrey series is Wednesday. And Messi would figure to be available for that, given that he will be in the lineup on Saturday.

Messi hasn’t played since March 13, and also missed Argentina’s exhibitions last month against El Salvador and Costa Rica. He trained with Miami on Friday.

“He’s getting better every day,” Morales said.

Messi, who missed his fourth straight game because of a right hamstring injury, has not played since March 13, and also missed Argentina’s exhibitions last month against El Salvador and Costa Rica.

It isn’t yet clear when the 36-year-old Messi will return. Inter Miami and Monterrey are scheduled to play the second leg of the quarterfinal in Mexico on April 10. Inter Miami will also play an MLS match against Colorado on Saturday.

“Every day he’s feeling better. It would have been too much of a risk today,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said through an interpreter after the match. He added that Messi will continue to be game-to-game.

Monterrey’s Jorge Rodríguez broke a 1-1 tie in the 89th minute Wednesday when he sent a shot into the top right corner past goalkeeper Drake Callender after a sloppy pass by Miami’s Diego Gómez, spoiling a strong first half from Inter Miami in its toughest match of the season.

Tomas Avilés tapped in Miami’s only goal off a corner kick by Julian Gressel in the 19th minute. It was the 19-year-old Avilés’ first goal of the season and came during a stout first-half defensive effort that held Monterrey at bay.

But Inter Miami came unraveled after David Ruíz received a second yellow card and was sent off for unnecessary contact in the 65th minute. Miami played the final 25 minutes of the match down a man.

Monterrey quickly took advantage, tying the score less than five minutes later on a goal from Maximiliano Meza, who shot past Callender on a second attempt after a corner kick by Sergio Canales.

“The first thing is that we didn’t have enough legs to do the last 20 minutes,” Martino said. “And playing against a team like Monterrey, you have to be in very good physical shape. … It seemed that we were going to have moments in the game in which we would be dominated, we didn’t suffer it as much as I thought, but when you have to do the last 20 minutes with one player short, that became a problem.”

Callender had seven saves, while Monterrey’s Esteban Andrada had one.

Miami’s Robert Taylor left with an injury after going down and grabbing his leg in pain in the 36th minute.

Suárez staked Inter Miami to a 1-0 lead just 15 minutes into the match, scoring on a header with an assist from Julian Gressel off a set piece. Suárez has also assisted on three goals as he continues to carry the scoring load with superstar teammate Lionel Messi out for the past three weeks with a muscle injury. Suárez is tied with the Los Angeles Galaxy’s Dejan Joveljic and one behind Lewis Morgan of the New York Red Bulls for the early goals lead.

NYCFC pulled even by halftime when Martínez took a pass from Keaton Parks in the 34th minute and right footed a shot from the right side of the box to the center of the net. Martínez was making his first start and fifth appearance for NYCFC over the past two seasons.

Drake Callender totaled two saves for Inter Miami (3-2-2). Matt Freese saved five shots for NYCFC (1-4-1).

Inter Miami is hoping Messi will return Wednesday for a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series against Monterrey.

New York City returns home to play Atlanta United on Saturday. Inter Miami will host the Colorado Rapids on Saturday with Messi’s status for that one also up in the air.

The 24-year-old Argentine’s arrival is pending receipt of the required visa, the team said.

“We’re pleased to bring defender Marcelo Weigandt on loan from Boca Juniors,” Inter Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said. “He is a skillful young defender that is fit and ready to contribute. Marcelo comes with experience in both domestic and international competitions. We think this addition helps strengthen our squad to compete for titles.”

Weigandt has been part of Boca Juniors’ first team since 2019, helping the club win two Argentine titles, plus three other trophies.

“I’m excited and proud to be joining such an ambitious club like Inter Miami,” he said.

In an interview with the Big Time Podcast released on Wednesday, the 36-year-old Messi revealed that he doesn’t see his advancing years as an important factor in determining when to end his career.

He also said that he hasn’t considered when he might call time on his playing days, during which he has won the World Cup with Argentina, 10 La Liga and four Champions League titles with Barcelona and eight Ballon d’Or awards.

“The truth is I haven’t thought about it yet,” said Messi, who turns 37 in June. “Today, I try to enjoy it day-by-day, enjoy every moment without thinking about it more than that.

“I don’t have anything clear yet but to keep playing, which is what I’d like to do for a while longer. When the moment arrives, surely I’ll find the path to whatever fills me with joy and I enjoy and it’ll be a new role.”

These days, it’s not unusual for athletes to continue their careers into their late 30s and beyond, with Messi’s long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo still playing and scoring goals aplenty for Portugal and Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr at the age of 39.

Messi joined MLS side Inter Miami last year and won the Leagues Cup – the first title in his new club’s history – in August. The team is currently second in the Eastern Conference standings having played six games this season.

Asked about what will factor into his decision to retire, Messi said: “The moment that I’m not at the level to deliver, that I’m not enjoying it, that I’m not helping my teammates.

“Like I said before at the beginning, I’m very self-critical with myself. I know when I’m good or when I’m bad, when I play well or when I play badly, and when I feel that moment to take that step, I will without thinking about my age.

“If I feel good, I will always keep trying to compete because it’s what I like and what I know how to do.”

Messi missed Argentina’s recent friendlies against El Savaldor and Costa Rica due to a hamstring injury. It’s unclear whether he will play a part in Inter Miami’s upcoming MLS game against New York City on Saturday.

Morgan, who played for Inter Miami from 2020-21, gave the Red Bulls (3-1-1) the lead in the 3rd minute with an assist from Vanzeir. New York took a 2-0 lead when Vanzeir again set up Morgan in the 51st minute.

Vanzeir notched his third assist on a goal by Wikelman Carmona in the 66th minute and Morgan and Vanzeir teamed up again in the 70th minute to complete the scoring.

Ryan Meara totaled two saves to earn the clean sheet for the Red Bulls in his first start of the season. CJ dos Santos saved one shot in his first start of the season and the second of his career for Inter Miami (3-2-1).

Noah Allen appeared to score in the 77th minute for the visitors, but the goal was ruled out after a review.

Lionel Messi, who is nursing a hamstring injury suffered in a 2-2 draw with Nashville SC on March 7, was one of nine Inter Miami players out due to injuries or national duty.

Morgan’s first hat trick came in the Red Bulls’ 4-1 victory over Toronto FC last season. Morgan had seven goals and 12 assists in two seasons with Inter Miami.

Vanzeir tied the assist record set by the Chicago Fire’s Ante Razov in a 2000 victory over the New England Revolution.

The Red Bulls travel to play Orlando City on Saturday. Inter Miami returns home to play New York City FC on Saturday.

Messi was held out of Sunday’s 3-2 MLS loss to Montreal and was subbed off early in the second half of Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Nashville in the Concacaf Champions Cup second leg. Messi is reportedly resting a right leg injury.

Suárez did not start on Saturday but subbed in at the 62nd minute. It took him only 10 minutes to connect on the go-ahead goal, scoring with a left-footed shot from close range to the bottom left corner. The goal was assisted by Leonardo Campana following a fast break.

Suárez struck again in the 85th minute when he left-footed a shot from the center of the box to the high center of the goal.

With Messi sidelined and Suárez not in the starting lineup, United took an early advantage. Jared Stroud scored when he delivered a right-footed shot from the right side of the box to the top left corner in the 14th minute. The assist went to Mateusz Klich.

Inter Miami countered in the 24th minute on Leonardo Campana’s left-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner. The assist went to Federico Redondo.

D.C. United’s Pedro Santos drew a red card in the final minute of regular time.

Drake Callender made six saves in goal for first-place Miami (3-1-1), and Alex Bono stopped four for United (1-0-3).

Messi checked out of Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Nashville just a few minutes into the second half, and coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said the 36-year-old was experiencing discomfort in his right hamstring area. He was removed from the game as a precaution.

“He is overloaded in the right posterior,” Martino said through a translator. “We don’t want to run a risk. We tried to see if he could go further along (in the game), but it was bothering him so we preferred to have him get out of the game.”

Messi had a goal and an assist before leaving the game in the 50th minute.

Inter Miami advanced to the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals with the win and 5-3 advantage in aggregate goals in the total-goals series.

Martino said Messi will likely be rested for Inter Miami’s MLS match against D.C. United on Saturday as further precaution.

Messi had played every minute of the season before being rested in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Montreal.

He was injured late in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 at Nashville last Thursday. Messi went down late in regulation of that game when Nashville defender Lukas MacNaughton stepped on his calf. A trainer checked on Messi, who writhed in pain on the pitch, but he remained in the game.

He had been listed as questionable with a shin injury entering Sunday’s game against Montreal.

Martino said Wednesday that Messi will undergo tests, and the team will evaluate from there.

Inter Miami is currently amid a busy March that includes seven matches — four of which have come in a 10-day span. Messi is expected to join the Argentinian national team in a pair of Copa America warm-up matches on March 22 and 26.

Messi found his former Barcelona teammate, Luis Suárez , in stride for a goal that opened scoring in the eighth minute. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner then added a first-half goal to give Inter Miami an early 2-0 lead.

The Argentine superstar checked out of the match in the 50th minute. Coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said after the game that Messi is dealing with a mild leg injury that started bothering him during the game, so the team took him out as a precaution.

He had rested during Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Montreal, which is the only game he has missed this season.

Martino said Messi will likely miss the team’s MLS match Saturday against D.C. United.

“I don’t want to risk it,” Martino said. He added that Messi will undergo tests, and the team will evaluate from there.

Messi was replaced Wednesday by Robert Taylor, who scored in the 63rd minute to give Inter Miami a 3-0 lead.

Inter Miami advanced to the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals with the win and 5-3 advantage in aggregate goals in the total-goals series.

The teams had tied in the first leg in Nashville last Thursday. Messi scored in regulation, and Suárez scored the tying goal in stoppage time to rally Miami to a 2-2 draw. Messi went down late in regulation of that game when Nashville defender Lukas Macnaughton stepped on his left calf. A trainer checked on Messi, who remained on the pitch.

He had been listed as questionable with a shin injury entering Sunday’s game against Montreal, but Martino said after that match that the plan was always to rest Messi for that game.

The rest seemed to bode well for Messi’s performance Wednesday, as he wasted no time making an impact.

He earned a free kick after a foul by Nashville’s Aníbal Godoy just four minutes into the match, but had his attempt blocked. The 36-year-old seized his opportunity a few minutes later, using his impressive vision to fit a pass to a streaking Suárez, who sent the ball into bottom right corner of the net.

Messi then used a pass from Diego Gómez to score from inside the penalty area as fans started chanting his name. Taylor later got on the board with a header off an assist by Suárez.

“Lionel Messi himself was very, very sharp in the first 15 minutes,” Nashville coach Gary Smith said after the match. He was then asked his thoughts when he saw Messi trotting off the field early in the second half.

“Firstly, thank goodness,” Smith said jokingly. “He’s such a huge influence on the rest of the group. Yes, they have other very good players, but there is no one that can do what he can do. … Delighted to see him go off, I honestly thought that their performance dipped, and it gave us a little bit of an incentive.”

Nashville had a chance late in the second half when Hany Mukhtar got past Miami’s defense and sent a shot into the back of the net. Officials overturned the goal after a lengthy review, ruling that Mukhtar was offside.

Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender, coming off a disappointing performance against Montreal, had two saves before giving up a goal to Sam Surridge in stoppage time.

Wednesday was the fourth time that Smith’s Nashville club has faced Messi since he joined Inter Miami and MLS last summer.

They’d played to three draws before Wednesday — the first of which Miami won 10-9 on penalty kicks in the 2023 Leagues Cup final. Messi scored early in regulation and converted the first shot in penalty kicks as Miami won its first trophy.

“It’s a never-ending conundrum,” Smith said ahead of Wednesday’s match. “You try and set up a group to try and limit what he’s able to do. He’s proved throughout his career at the very best levels that no matter how good you are defensively, or how well-organized, the caliber of the individual will always find a way.”

Messi did not play after previously being listed as questionable with a shin injury.

The injury happened in a 2-2 draw at Nashville in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last week. Messi went to contest a pass from Nashville’s Lukas Macnaughton, who appeared to step on the 36-year-old’s calf and cause his left ankle to twist. Trainers tended to Messi as he writhed in pain on the pitch in the 77th minute, but he remained in the match.

Messi left that match with a bruise, but head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said Sunday the team and Messi had previously agreed that he would rest against Montreal — no matter what happened at Nashville.

Martino has been tasked with finding ways to manage Messi’s workload and recovery as he has played every minute of Inter Miami’s first four games of the season.

Resting the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner makes sense — Inter Miami will play two more games over the next six days. That’s four games in a ten-day stretch. And Messi was called up to represent the Argentinian national team in a pair of Copa America warm-up matches on March 22 and 26. Inter Miami also has a match at New York on March 23.

“We all know Leo,” Inter Miami assistant coach Javier Morales said during a media availability Saturday, “he’s a player who wants to play every game. I think we will have a conversation with him, see how he is and try to decide what is best for him.”

Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets did not start Sunday but came on as second-half substitutes. Suarez, like Messi, had previously started all four of Inter Miami’s games.

“They asked me ten days ago if we were going to do a rotation,” Martino said curtly when asked about resting Messi, as well as the reasoning behind Sunday’s lineup. “Today we did a rotation. There’s no other answer.”

Leonarda Campana scored the tying goal for Miami in the 71st minute after Montreal took a 1-0 lead early in the first half on a header from Fernando Álvarez. Off a cross from Lawson Sunderland, Campana injected life into the crowd at Chase Stadium when he sent a header into the bottom left corner of the net.

But in a game that was one of Inter Miami’s sloppiest of the season, Montreal took a two-goal lead with scores from Matías Cóccaro and Sunusi Ibrahim in less than a five-minute span.

“I think we should have won the game,” Martino said. “We merited winning the game. What worries me is that we are a team that is not defending as hard as we should.”

It was Inter Miami’s first loss of the young season, despite having chances down the stretch. Jordi Alba sent a left-footed shot from outside the box into the top left corner to make it 3-2.

Inter Miami will face Nashville again on Wednesday in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 matchup.

The teams will meet Wednesday night in Florida in the second leg of the home-and-home, total-goals series in the round of 16.

Suárez tied it up scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time with a header off a cross from former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets. Messi got Inter Miami on the board with his first CONCACAF goal in the 52nd minute.

“It’s a completely different level of intelligence from the likes of Lionel Messi and Busquets and Suárez,” Nashville coach Gary Smith said of facing Inter Miami with the talent the team has added. “Completely different level. And for the most part, I thought the guys did a wonderful job.”

Jacob Shaffelburg scored in the fourth minute, then again in the 47th minute after halftime to put Nashville up 2-0 before a crowd of 30,109. Nashville thought it had a 3-1 lead when Shaq Moore scored in the 83rd minute, only to have the goal waived off for being offside.

Smith wasn’t happy with the officiating, making clear he hadn’t seen Moore’s goal. Smith said he thought the rules required clear and obvious error or the decision on the field should stand.

All eyes were on Messi.

Once the match was set last week, ticket prices seemed ready to soar, similar to Messi’s first visit to Nashville last August in the Leagues Cup final. Tickets remained available Thursday, though pink Messi jerseys dotted GEODIS Park. Fans also chanted the name of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner repeatedly.

“There’s a slightly different edge and feel to the atmosphere when Messi’s in town,” Smith said. “You know, he’s the show and an exceptional individual.”

Messi scored in regulation and converted the first shot in penalty kicks the last time these teams played here. He had to be a bit more patient Thursday night.

He missed in the 13th minute trying to bend the ball just inside the left edge of the goal from the middle of the box with his left-footed kick going just wide left. Messi appeared to ask himself how he didn’t score. Nashville keeper Joe Willis stopped Messi’s shot off his right foot in the 37th minute from the box.

A foul gave Messi a chance just before halftime in stoppage time, but his free kick went into Nashville’s wall. Julian Gressel tried to chase down the ball and got his right foot on the ball, only to see Willis smother the shot as the half expired.

Shaffelburg put Nashville up 1-0 in the fourth minute, scoring over Drake Callender off a pass from Moore, tucking the ball under the crossbar before going to his knees celebrating the early lead. Shaffelburg scored from the left side off a pass from Sean Davis for a 2-0 lead.

That didn’t last long as Messi finally did what everyone expected to happen at some point.

Suárez found his former Barcelona teammate Messi just outside the box. Messi used his left foot to squeeze the ball between Willis’ outstretched right fingers and inside the left post in the 52nd minute to pull Miami to 2-1.

Messi had a bit of a scare late in regulation when Nashville defender Lukas Macnaughton stepped on his left calf. A trainer checked on Messi, who remained on the pitch.

Before the match, Nashville announced a contract extension with German midfielder Hany Mukhtar to keep the 2022 MLS MVP and Golden Boot winner with the club through 2026. Nashville also has an option for 2027 for the two-time All-Star who is the club’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points.

Callendar made a nice stop on a Mukhtar shot at the post in the 23rd minute. Mukhtar hadn’t had a chance to see the replay of Moore’s goal taken away for being offside.

“I heard it’s very, very tight,” Mukhtar said. “Not not ideal for us, but it’s just halftime. So we’re going there next week and start from 0-0.”

He has a better vantage point now that he shares a locker room with them.

Things are happening quickly for the 21-year-old Redondo, a midfielder who signed a four-year contract with Inter Miami last month. The son of longtime Argentina national team player Fernando Redondo — a former Real Madrid and AC Milan player — was formally introduced by his new club on Tuesday.

“It’s awesome,” Redondo said. “I grew up seeing these kind of players. And it’s a dream come true to play with them.”

Inter Miami sees short- and long-term benefits from signing Redondo. He was brought in as a season-ending injury replacement for Facundo Farias, who was lost to a torn ACL in a preseason match back in January. And on a roster that’s led by four players all in their mid-30s — Alba is the youngest of Inter Miami’s Big Four and he turns 35 later this month — it’s important to stockpile young talent for the future.

“We believe in his potential,” team sporting director and chief soccer officer Chris Henderson said when Inter Miami signed Redondo.

Acclimation to a star-heavy locker room isn’t going to be difficult for Redondo, given that he’s been around top players for his entire life. His father was UEFA’s Club Footballer of the Year for the 1999-2000 season. Messi won that award in 2008-09, then won it twice more when it was essentially rebranded to UEFA men’s player of the year in 2011.

Another winner of that club footballer award: David Beckham, part of Inter Miami’s ownership group. He won it in 1998-99, the season before Fernando Redondo got the trophy.

“For me, it’s more like an honor,” Federico Redondo said of carrying on his family’s soccer legacy. “I know my dad was one of the of the best at his position. It helps me a lot because we always talk about the matches. He teaches me a lot of things.”

Redondo has some goals for the season — he’d like to play with Argentina at the Paris Olympics (and has a chance), plus he knows Inter Miami has high hopes of collecting multiple trophies this year including what would be the franchise’s first MLS title.

“I’m really excited to be a part of this,” he said.

The 30-year-old, a member of the 2014 and 2022 U.S. World Cup rosters, returned to Major League Soccer in January 2022 with a four-year contract that includes a 2026 team option. Yedlin earned an $825,000 base salary last season and had total guaranteed compensation of $873,750.

Yedlin had nine assists in 65 matches and appeared in 82 games overall with Miami. He frequently was team captain before Lionel Messi’s arrival last summer.

A native of Seattle, Yedlin has made 81 international appearances.

He played for the Seattle Sounders in 2013 and ’14, joined Tottenham for the second half of the 2014-15 season and appeared in one match, against Aston Villa. He went on loan to Sunderland for 2015-16, then spent 4 1/2 seasons with Newcastle. Yedlin moved to Galatasaray for the second half of the 2020-21 season.

General allocation money can be used to reduce a player’s allocation against the salary cap.

Messi had consecutive goals during a quick span early in the second half.

The 37-year-old Suárez became the latest ex-Barcelona teammate to join Messi at Inter Miami and made an immediate impact in his third MLS match. The pair played together for six years at Barcelona. Suárez also had two assists.

With a prolific career that has resulted in 381 club goals over 19 seasons, Suárez scored his first two in MLS within a seven-minute sequence early in the first half.

Robert Taylor scored the fifth goal for Inter Miami (2-0-1, 7 points), which is unbeaten for the first time through its first three games in club history. Orlando City dropped to 0-1-1.

Inter Miami fans were barely settling in when Suárez struck four minutes into the match. Messi initiated the strike as his long pass found an open Julian Gressel on the right wing. Gressel then centered to an open Suárez, who one-timed a shot inside the right post.

The combination of Gressel and Suárez clicked again seven minutes later. From the left wing, Gressel sent another crossing pass to Suárez. Suárez beat defender Wilder Cartagena to the ball, dribbled into the large area and converted past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese from 12 yards.

Suárez turned distributor for Taylor’s goal in the 29th minute. Suárez’s cross from the right wing found an open Taylor against an unsuccessful offside trap by the Orlando City backline. Taylor tapped in a 15-yard shot.

Messi joined the scoring onslaught with his first goal in the 57th minute. Suárez’s shot deflected off the crossbar and an unmarked Messi easily tapped in the shot inches from the goal line.

Suárez’s centering pass from the left wing found an open Messi, whose header in the 62nd minute closed the scoring.

Tensions escalated when Suárez exchanged words with Orlando players as they walked off the field for the halftime break.

Saturday began a month of seven matches for Inter Miami while Argentina also has called Messi for two exhibitions during a four-day stretch later in March.

Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said Friday that Messi’s playing time will be carefully monitored.

In addition to five league matches, Inter Miami will face Nashville SC in a home-and-home set of the CONCACAF Nations Cup round of 16. Argentina will play El Salvador on March 22 and Costa Rica on March 26 as precursors to Copa America later this summer.

Shortly before Saturday’s kickoff, Jaime Herrera replaced Guiherme Ceretta as center referee after photos of Ceretta on social media created a possible conflict of interest.

Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles FC, Salt Lake, San Jose and Seattle will enter the 96-team competition, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Friday.

Houston is the defending tournament champion and the others were among the top seven teams from last year’s regular-season Supporters’ Shield standings who are not in this year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup.

MLS teams will enter in the fourth round and face only lower tier squads until a head-to-head MLS matchup is unavoidable. Last year, 18 MLS teams entered in the third round and eight in the fourth.

Houston beat Miami 2-1 in last year’s final. Messi missed the game because of an injury.

Since the start of MLS in 1996, the only team not from the first tier to win the competition was the 1999 Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL’s second-tier A-League, which beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the final.

MLS announced Dec. 15 it was pulling all its teams from the nation’s oldest soccer competition, which started in 1914, and was replacing them with third-tier developmental sides from MLS Next Pro.

The USSF said five days later it was treating MLS’s decision as a request that it was turning down.

In its announcement, the USSF said it improved financial incentives, increased travel reimbursement and added new commercial partners.

MLS said it will enter 11 teams from its third tier: Austin, Carolina, Chattanooga, Chicago. Colorado, Crown Legacy, Minnesota, LA Galaxy, New York City, New York Red Bulls and Portland.

The second tier United Soccer League Championship is entering all 24 teams.

First-round matches will be scheduled for March 19-21, followed by the second round on April 2 and 3, the third round on April 16 and 17, the fourth round on May 7 and 8 and the fifth round on May 21 and 22. Quarterfinals will be July 9 and 10, semifinals on Aug. 27 and 28 and the championship on Sept. 25.

Messi was still brilliant enough to keep Miami unbeaten after an early-season test from another marquee MLS club.

Messi scored in the second minute of second-half injury time off a pass from Jordi Alba, and Miami salvaged a 1-1 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday night.

Dejan Joveljic scored in the 75th minute for the Galaxy, who were close to delivering a surprising early-season blow to Messi and his new MLS powerhouse — but with LA down to 10 men, the Argentine superstar worked another bit of magic.

After executing a give-and-go pass sequence with Alba, his longtime Barcelona teammate, Messi slid forward and chipped a shot into the roof of the net above Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy.

The goal delivered another thrill to the raucous crowd cheering on both teams at Miami’s first road game of the season. Thousands of fans wore Messi shirts among the 27,642 in attendance — a record for a Galaxy regular-season match at their suburban stadium.

“It was their home opener, and the atmosphere was pretty electric,” said Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender, whose eight saves included a stop on an early penalty shot from Riqui Puig. “It’s still early in the season, so there’s things we need to work on, but earning a point on the road is good. We don’t want to get comfortable at all. We have a long season ahead.”

Inter Miami is a major betting favorite to dominate MLS this season after uniting Messi and Luis Suárez alongside fellow ex-Barca stars Sergio Busquets and Alba — but everybody on Messi’s side knows it won’t be easy.

Miami won its season opener at home last Wednesday, but was frequently outplayed by the rebuilding Galaxy four days later in Messi’s first appearance against the club that once employed Inter co-owner David Beckham.

The Galaxy are famous for the type of high-profile veteran signings amassed by Miami in the past year, but the LA club is rebuilding without big names this time. The young Galaxy still applied more consistent offensive pressure than the league’s new showcase team, racking up 23 shots to Miami’s 11 while repeatedly generating chances in the box.

“Playing against fantastic players, it doesn’t make you afraid,” said Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil, who was impressive in his debut. “It should give you a boost to be the best version of yourself. … You can see we have really young and talented players in this team. We just need a little bit of time, because we just arrived.”

Miami responded to the Galaxy’s attack with physical defense, but couldn’t put together a consistent response despite Messi’s playmaking. Puig — a product of Barca’s famed La Masia academy — was his usual excellent self in midfield for the Galaxy, while newcomers Paintsil — who drew the early penalty with a canny run past Busquets — and Gabriel Pec made immediate impacts in their debuts.

“It’s true, they dominated the first half,” Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said. “Puig made them play very well, and it’s clear that (with) their two new players, the team is totally different because they have a good No. 9 and two wingers who are dangerous. They played a good game.”

After generating better chances and controlling possession for much of the night, the Galaxy finally broke through late in the second half. Callender made a diving save on Puig’s shot, but Mark Delgado controlled the rebound and passed to a wide-open Joveljic for a tap-in goal.

Delgado was sent off with a second yellow card for a highly debatable foul in the 87th minute, and Messi had a golden opportunity two minutes later when Alba found him with a pass at the top of the Galaxy penalty area. The superstar’s shot flew wide left, leaving him rubbing his forehead in disappointment.

With another chance four minutes later, Messi didn’t miss.

The stadium south of downtown Los Angeles was packed and roiling with excitement two hours before Messi’s first game against the Galaxy, a five-time MLS champion franchise long known as the preferred destination for superstars of Europe looking for a new home after reaching their mid-30s.

Beckham, who catalyzed MLS’ growth with his move to the Galaxy in 2007, has a statue outside the team’s stadium. He’s also a primary reason for Inter’s ascent to the role long occupied by the Galaxy, which employed the likes of Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic late in their careers.

The excitement around this match was a thrill for MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

“It sort of represents everything we wanted this sport to be, and have worked so hard for so many years,” said Garber, who met with Beckham and Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz before the game. “Everybody is working hard to build on this momentum. … To me, this is very much about where we were in 2007 and where we are today.”

Redondo — the son of Fernando Redondo, who played for Real Madrid, AC Milan and Argentina’s national team — is signing as a U22 Initiative player and as a season-ending injury replacement for Facundo Farias. Inter Miami lost Farias to a torn ACL in a preseason match last month.

“We’re pleased to bring an exciting young midfielder like Federico to Inter Miami,” team sporting director and chief soccer officer Chris Henderson said. “He’s a very promising player who is sharp with the ball at his feet, and shows awareness out of possession. We believe in his potential, but also feel he will immediately be a strong addition to our squad as we look to build on our successes in 2024.”

The 21-year-old Redondo comes to Inter Miami from Argentinos Juniors. He has represented Argentina at the under-20 and under-23 levels, and now gets to play with Argentina captain Lionel Messi.

“I’m very happy to join a club that is growing so much,” Redondo said. “It’s a great opportunity to share the pitch with top players.”

Moments later, Inter Miami had the first goal of the Major League Soccer season.

Taylor’s goal in the 39th minute set the tone, Diego Gómez added an insurance score in the 83rd minute and Inter Miami — to start Messi’s first full season with the club — opened the 29th season of MLS with a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night.

Messi was in midseason form, darting through and around defenders, almost giving the sellout crowd what they wanted to see by nearly scoring on a free kick and then a corner kick midway through the first half.

“I think the eyes of the world are on Inter Miami, and I’m hoping that they’re able to deliver on that and whatever expectations people have,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who was at Wednesday’s match. “Mostly, I’d just like his experience to be good, the experience of the team to be successful, how they’re positioned both here in the league but also around the world. That’s the story that I think is most important to us.”

Messi had 11 goals in 14 total matches with Inter Miami last season, leading the team to a Leagues Cup championship — its first-ever trophy — shortly after he stunned much of the soccer world by signing a 2 1/2-year contract worth around $150 million. He appeared in only six MLS matches in 2023, scoring once. Injuries slowed him late in the 2023 season and Inter Miami, which was way out of the postseason picture when Messi joined last summer, didn’t make the MLS playoffs.

But the craze surrounding him is not fading. The lines for fans to buy his jersey, which was MLS’ top-seller last year and has a new sponsor design this year, was out the door of the team store. He had the assist on the first goal and set up Luis Suarez — one of his former Barcelona teammates, like fellow Inter Miami stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — with the pass that Suarez turned into the assist on Gómez’s goal.

“I’m so happy,” Suarez said.

They looked every bit like a contender. That wasn’t the case in the exhibition season.

Inter Miami started its season with an international preseason tour with seven matches in five different countries — netting roughly 25,000 miles of travel, a total of eight goals, multiple apologies to refund-seeking fans after Messi missed a game in Hong Kong because of injury, and just one win.

But they completely controlled the first half of Wednesday’s match against a team that comfortably made the Western Conference playoffs last season. Messi even flicked the ball around Salt Lake defender Andrew Brody who was injured and down near the top of the penalty box late in the half, weaving around him with ease. Brody was able to stay in the game.

“If anybody had been skeptical about what this team can do, I think the first half showed them,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said.

Inter Miami, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, enters the season as the favorite to win just about everything. Messi’s team is listed as the 5-2 favorite to win the MLS Cup, while Messi and Suarez are the top two picks to win the Golden Boot — given to the league’s leading scorer.

The club is basically an even-money favorite to win the Supporters Shield as MLS’ top regular-season club. And if someone wagered $200 on Inter Miami making the Eastern Conference playoffs right now, that bettor would stand to profit exactly $1 if Messi’s club makes the field — meaning it is considered to be an absolute postseason lock.

It should be noted that the club has yet to win a playoff match. Inter Miami has been to the playoffs twice, getting eliminated right away on both occasions, both times by 3-0 scores.

“You don’t have to jump the gun,” Martino said. “It was just one game.”

But Messi moves the needle — every needle — that much. He turns 37 in June and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner still attracts attention, on and off the field, like almost no one else in sports. Apple TV released the first episode of “Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend” on Wednesday, and the streaming service (which has a 10-year deal worth at least $2.5 billion with MLS) was part of the group that pitched Messi during his process of deciding whether to join the league last year.

Apple hasn’t released numbers, but senior vice president Eddy Cue said Wednesday that he was “shocked” by how successful Year 1 of Messi in MLS was.

“We had a tremendous first season,” Cue said. “The amount of viewership was way over what we ever expected. The amount of time that people were watching games is more than any sport that I’ve seen.”

Messi Mania continues. And Year 2 has win No. 1.

While Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain led Miami to the Leagues Cup title – the first trophy in the franchise’s history – the team endured mixed fortunes in MLS, winning just four of the 12 games following Messi’s arrival, though he only played in half of those due to injury.

However, with the benefit of an entire preseason to prepare with his new team, it’s likely Messi’s presence will be felt more keenly on the pitch this campaign, which gets under way on Wednesday as Miami hosts Real Salt Lake.

How to watch the MLS season opener

The MLS season opener between Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake kicks off at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast in the US and UK on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, following the 10-year streaming deal signed in 2022 between MLS and the technology company.

A star-laden Miami side

Miami is also boosted by the arrival of another former superstar teammate of Messi at Barcelona, Luis Suárez.

The Uruguayan arrived in a buoyant mood after a prolific season with Gremio in Brazil, asking during the preseason: “Why wouldn’t we dream of winning all four titles this year?”

In total, there will be five major trophies for Messi and co. to get their hands on this season: the MLS Supporters’ Shield, the MLS Cup, the US Open Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League and the Leagues Cup.

If facing this former Barcelona quartet wasn’t daunting enough, Inter Miami head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino stated after Suárez’s first training session with the team that “they haven’t forgotten how to play together.”

Days before the MLS season began, league commissioner Don Garber said he believed Miami could still add more superstar firepower to its squad.

“It’s important to remind ourselves and everybody else that having arguably the best player of all time in our league says a lot about where MLS is and how far it’s come over the years,” Garber told ESPN.

“And I don’t think Miami is stopping, right? Signing Luis Suárez and putting together a bunch of guys that Leo has played with for so many years, I think is fun. It’s exciting and I think we’re going to see just more energy and lots more attention in year two.”

Messi’s arrival has led to a huge rise in ticket sales and prices across the league, but questions are already being asked about how MLS plans to turn short-term profits into long-term interest in the league after the Argentine has left.

Additionally, Garber is currently dealing with an ongoing dispute with the league’s referees, who rejected a new collective bargaining deal and are holding a referee lockout, meaning stand-in referees will be used to begin the season.

Title contenders

The vast majority of the eyes on MLS this season are there for Messi, and there is little the league can do to change that fact.

However, there are a number of teams this season which will likely have a better chance of winning one of the three domestic titles on offer than Inter Miami.

Chief among them is defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew, which caught the eye with an attractive, attacking style of soccer throughout the course of the regular season, but in particular during the playoffs.

In only his first season at the club, French head coach Wilfried Nancy has taken the reins with confidence in Ohio, becoming one of the most impressive and highly regarded young managers in the league.

FC Cincinnati will likely challenge once again after winning the Supporters’ Shield last season for the best regular season record and, in 2023 league MVP Luciano Acosta, the team has its own special Argentine No. 10.

Garber said he is “not concerned about it at all” that Messi’s presence in the league will detract from other teams, players and stories.

“We’re trying to always open up our teams and our league to those people that are fans of the sport that might not yet be fully committed to our clubs, and getting people here and around the world to follow MLS and experience it is a positive,” he added.

“Our job is to convert those fans into being passionate supporters of our league and our clubs and if we have a brand that has global recognition like Inter Miami does, that’s a positive.

“And I think you see that with clubs that are resonating around the world in all leagues.”

The hype of Messi and Inter Miami

Ahead of Messi’s first full season, the Miami Herald asked whether retail chain Target should be the sponsor for the back of the team’s jersey this season “as every opponent will be aiming for Messi’s team wherever they go.”

In total, Messi and Inter Miami appear in all 25 of the best-selling games on StubHub for the upcoming season.

Writing for ESPN, Luis Miguel Echegaray said he doesn’t see Inter Miami winning the Eastern Conference.

“And that’s OK for manager Tata Martino because I think his top objective – aside from a good run in the Champions Cup – is to make the playoffs,” he added. “Anything after that is a bonus.”

GOAL.com’s Ryan Tolmich said that “no MLS season has had this much hype.”

“And no team has been under the microscope more than Inter Miami,” he added. “Anything less than transcendent success won’t cut it for a club that is now built upon a promise of more.”

The average purchase price for MLS’ first game of the season between Miami and Salt Lake on Wednesday night are going for about $185 per seat — 585% more expensive than Inter Miami’s first home game last year (against Montreal without Messi) when tickets cost about $27, according to TickPick.

Cheapest tickets for this year’s first home match are $95 for the match. That’s 1,257% more expensive than the cheapest, or “get in” price of last season’s home opener when it cost $7 for a seat.

Prices on the secondary market are elevated for the rest of Inter Miami’s season with tickets about 70% more expensive than last year. Seats are going for $167 on average compared to $99 last season, TickPick said.

“Given he joined Inter Miami at the tail-end of last season, we expect that ‘Messi Mania’ will still be in full swing to start the season but prices should normalize as we move through the schedule,” Brett Goldberg, co-CEO of TickPick, told CNN.

Messi’s entrance to the MLS is also increasing prices for other teams in the league: The average price of a game this season is $164, which is 124% more expensive than the $73 per seat cost in 2023, according to TickPick.

For StubHub, another secondary ticketing website, sales for the MLS have increased seven fold compared to last year at this time, and it has seen sales for all 29 MLS teams increase this year, showing that Messi is bringing in more fans to the league that has long trailed others like MLB and NHL in popularity.

In particular, Inter Miami sales are 150-times higher compared to the start of last season and is the most in-demand MLS team, with the Los Angeles Galaxy in second and the New England Revolution in third.

“The surge in sales for Inter Miami, and the league as a whole, are a testament to his legacy as a soccer star,” said StubHub spokesperson Adam Budell told CNN. “Messi’s influence extends beyond the confines of his home stadium, driving demand on the road, from buyers all over the world and most especially his native country, Argentina.”

Ticket sales on StubHub are from buyers spanning 44 countries this year, up from nine compared to last season’s start. Argentinians are the second-largest number of buyers after North Americans.

Sales of Messi’s redesigned jersey also remain popular, although they haven’t sold out like last year. Billy Lalor, director of consumer merchandising at Soccer.com, told CNN that sales “are strong as we continue to see high levels of interest” around him, and the retailer expects that his new kit will be “among our top-selling items for 2024.”

The Professional Soccer Referees Association said Saturday that 95.8% voted against a tentative agreement with the Professional Referee Organization, which supplies match officials to MLS, the NWSL and some lower-tier leagues. The union said 97.8% of eligible members voted.

Their previous five-year agreement had been set to expire on Jan. 15, and a pair of brief extensions ended Monday. PRO will lock out the union at 12:01 a.m. EST on Sunday.

“We are left with no choice but to institute a lockout and use qualified nonbargaining unit officials so that games can go ahead as scheduled,” Mark Geiger, the former referee who became PRO’s general manager in February 2023, said in a statement.

Messi and Miami play the MLS opener at home against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

The PSRA, which has about 260 members, said the tentative agreement lacked a sufficient economic package and quality-of-life improvements.

“The skyrocketing growth of MLS has significantly increased demands on officials mentally and physically, and as such has increased demands on both our professional and personal time,” union president Peter Manikowski said in a statement. “Our members are asking not only for fair compensation at a time when the league is reporting record growth, but also for the ability to take care of themselves on the road and at home to continue officiating at the highest level that this sport demands.”

MLS said PRO’s proposal for wages, benefits and travel was a 25% improvement from last year.

PRO said the tentative five-year agreement included guaranteed pay increases this year of 10-33% for referees, 75-104% raises for assistant referees and 15-100% for video match officials along with increased match fees. Salaries and match fees would have increased 7% in 2027 and 3% in other years.

First-class or business-class air travel would be added for the postseason and for the final day of the regular season in 2028.

MLS used replacement officials for the first two weeks of its 2014 season before reaching a five-year contract after the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service entered talks.

League executive vice president Nelson Rodriguez said the union rejected a no strike-no lockout proposal. He said in statement that PRO would use “experienced professional match referees supported by veteran VAR officials,” a reference to the video assistant referees.

PRO had 66 officials committed to work during a lockout, according to information provided to The Associated Press. Among that group, 26 could be referees or fourth officials and six referees, assistant referees or fourth officials. Five could be fourth officials or video assistant referees and 29 could be assistant referees.

Eleven of the referees have past experience at FIFA events or first-, second- and third-tier professional leagues.

PRO managers who have been certified for VAR in the past will be available for video referee work.

The first full season with Lionel Messi is about to begin. Inter Miami know that they’ll have a target on their backs.

“Especially considering the footballers we have, they pose an additional challenge for our opponents when facing them,” said Inter Miami coach Tata Martino. “However, we have to consider the expectations according to the team we can field, in order to be fully prepared to face every challenge.”

Messi did have some health issues during the recent pre-season tour. He had a hamstring and slight hip injury, which limited his play in six of the seven friendlies.

During the Hong Kong game, Messi did not play.

Inter Miami expects Messi to be ready once the regular season starts.

“We know the season’s going to be long and it’s going to be really, there’s going to be challenges on the way but I think we’re not looking back at last season anymore, I think it’s more looking forward and being excited, and ready for this,” said Inter Miami midfielder Robert Taylor.

Inter Miami lost key players during the pre-season.

Facundo Farias tore his ASL during a match with El Salvador and is now out for the 2024 season. Benjamin Cremaschi suffered a sport hernia injury during the El Salvador game and is out for the next two or three months.

Inter Miami made the playoffs last season, but when they had a healthy Messi, who didn’t miss games playing for Argentina, the team won its first ever Leagues Cup Championship.

For the 2024 season, Inter Miami added a couple of new players, which includes Messi’s former Barcelona teammate, Luis Suarez.

In January, Julian Gressel, signed a three year deal with Inter Miami before he won the 2023 MLS cup with Columbus. He’s adjusted to the style of play that the team wants this season during pre-season.

“These games are a balance of, ‘We want to compete and test ourselves,’ as well as, you know, kind of learn and grow, you know, in pre-season,” Gressel said. “So it definitely got a little bit intense because we all want to win. It’s a lot of lessons I think to take and a lot to learn from for us to, you know, to grow.”

Messi could potentially miss six games at DRV PNK Stadium when he plays in international games for Argentina. He could also miss more games when he plays for Argentina during the 2024 Summer Paris Olympics, which starts on July 26.

It was the first time that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner faced the club that both he and Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino grew up with as natives of Rosario, Argentina. Messi played there as a child before leaving to play for FC Barcelona, where he rose to soccer stardom. Martino played and coached for the club and holds the record for most appearances in club history.

With the stadium packed with fans excited to see Messi play, the 36-year-old star did not have much affect on the game. He missed a free kick in the first half, but looked healthy, surging forward and slicing through opponents with ease.

Messi had missed a Feb. 4 preseason win in Hong Kong because of nagging injuries. He stayed on the bench for the entire game with a groin injury as fans booed and demanded refunds.

Messi checked out of the game Thursday with Inter Miami’s Luis Suárez in the 60th minute. That’s when a young fan sprinted onto the field with his arms stretched toward Messi before being intercepted by security.

Martino said Messi felt fine after Thursday’s match and is confident that he is recovering well as he ramps up for the start of the regular season.

Shanyder Borgelin put Inter Miami ahead 1-0 with a header in the 64th minute, and Newell’s Franco Díaz tied it in the 83rd minute.

Messi’s first MLS preseason was messy. Inter Miami set off on a global tour of exhibition games aimed at promotion and marketing, featuring Messi and the Uruguayan star Suárez. But the tour received mostly bad PR, as well as not-so-great results on the field.

Inter Miami was outscored 12-7 in its first five games before a win in Hong Kong. That victory was highly overshadowed by angry fans when neither Messi nor Suárez took the field.

“We understand the disappointment of the fans for the absence of Leo (Messi) and Luis Suarez,” Martino said after that game. “We understand a lot of fans are very disappointed and we ask for their forgiveness. We wish we could have sent Leo and Luis on for at least a while but the risk was too big.”

Borgelin, the 22-year-old whose booming header came less than five minutes after he subbed into the game, said he felt the tough preseason made the team stronger and more prepared to attack an upcoming season that will be filled with high expectations.

“Obviously it’s expected when you have the greatest player in the world,” he said. “I think we’re all ready and we’re all called up to a big task. We’re all on the field for a reason. And it’s part of the game, the losses, everything that comes with it.”

Inter Miami will host Real Salt Lake on Feb. 21 in its regular-season opener.

World Cup champion Argentina, captained by Messi, last month scheduled a tour of China during the international break from March 18-26. Games were lined up against Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing. Both opponents are coincidentally meeting in the Africa Cup of Nations final this weekend.

But Messi, on tour with his Inter Miami club, outraged fans in Hong Kong when he didn’t play against a local selection last Sunday and remained on the bench. Messi said he had a groin injury. But his excuse didn’t wash in Hong Kong after he played for 30 minutes on Wednesday in Tokyo against Vissel Kobe.

On Friday, the sports bureau in Hangzhou canceled the Argentina-Nigeria friendly.

“Because of the reasons known to all, we’ve learned from supervising authorities that the conditions are immature for the match to go forward. Now it’s been decided that the match will be canceled,” the Hangzhou Sports Bureau announced on its official social media account.

An Argentina Football Association official told the Association Press it was aware the match was suspended and was looking for another venue to play Nigeria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity saying, “It’s a sensitive matter.”

Ivory Coast’s friendly with Argentina in Beijing was going ahead as planned, Ivory Coast team spokesperson Anne-Marie N’Guessan told the AP on Friday.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong organizers of the club friendly with Inter Miami said they will offer a 50% refund following days of backlash against Messi from angry fans and the city government.

Many social media users in mainland China expressed their disappointment over Messi’s no-show, with China’s state-run newspaper, the Global Times, publishing an editorial that said the impact of the controversy surrounding the soccer superstar “has far exceeded the realm of sports.”

In an Instagram post on Friday, local organizer Tatler Asia apologized to those who were disappointed by Messi’s absence and said it was upset by “the seeming lack of respect shown to the crowd.”

It reiterated it pleaded with Inter Miami management to urge Messi to explain to the spectators after it learned Messi, who was required to play for 45 minutes unless injured under their contract, would not be playing.

“He didn’t. The fact that Messi … played in Japan on February 7th feels like another slap in the face,” it said.

The organizers said they were in talks with the city government on how to resolve the issue and details of the refund arrangement would be announced by mid-March.

“We will not escape our responsibility as organizers and that is why Tatler Asia will offer all those who purchased match-day tickets from the official channels a 50% refund,” it said.

Tickets for the game cost up to 4,880 Hong Kong dollars ($624) each. In its statement, Tatler Asia said it would refund 56 million Hong Kong dollars ($7.2 million) in total, resulting in a loss of 43 million Hong Kong dollars ($5.5 million). Before the refund, its net income stood at 13 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.7 million), the organizer said.

Tatler Asia on Monday already said it would withdraw an application for funding from the city government for staging the match.

In response to the announcement, the Hong Kong government welcomed the arrangement in a statement, calling it as a responsible move. But it said Hong Kong society still has many questions over the incident, especially after seeing Messi play in Japan, and hoped Inter Miami can provide a reasonable explanation to the public.

Inter Miami has not immediately responded to the AP’s request for comment.

After the PR disaster erupted on Sunday, Messi addressed the widespread disappointment by explaining why he did not play in a news conference in Tokyo.

He also said it was regrettable he could not play in Hong Kong on Chinese social media platform Weibo. He said in the post that he hoped to return to Hong Kong to play for his fans and go to mainland China to share the joy of football.

But his appearance in the Tokyo game on Wednesday intensified the criticism against his absence beyond Hong Kong, where the government sought to use the Sunday game to boost the city’s image as a hub for mega events.

On Wednesday, the Global Times said in the editorial that the explanations from Messi and Inter Miami were not convincing and pointed to some speculations about the moves.

“One theory is that their actions have political motives, as Hong Kong intends to boost economy through the event and external forces deliberately wanted to embarrass Hong Kong through this incident,” it said. “Judging from the development of the situation, the possibility of this speculation cannot be ruled out.”

Pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong also weighed in. Regina Ip, a leading member of the Executive Council, Hong Kong’s Cabinet, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Messi should never be allowed to return to Hong Kong. His lies and hypocrisy are disgusting.”

The match in Japan wrapped up Inter Miami’s global promotional tour. Inter has won only one of its six games in Central and North America, Saudi Arabia and Asia. The tour wraps up on Feb. 16 in Florida against Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s boyhood club from Rosario, Argentina. Many expect him to finish his career there.

Messi came off the bench for the final half hour, energized his teammates and probably had the best chance of the match in the 80th with two point-blank shots that were both stopped by the Vissel Kobe defense.

After a 0-0 draw in regulation, the match went to penalty kicks and Vissel won the shootout 4-3. Messi did not take a penalty, however, which brought jeers from the crowd of 28,614 in Tokyo’s National Stadium, which seats 68,000.

But it wasn’t close to the level of booing that broke out in Hong Kong after Messi stayed on the bench for the entire game with a groin injury. Some fans demanded refunds.

The Argentina star was contrite in a rare press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday as he addressed the public relations disaster. He had said he wasn’t sure whether he would be fit enough to play in Tokyo, and left fans guessing until he started warming up in the second half — drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

“After practice on Tuesday in the evening, he (Messi) said he felt good and we agreed he would play 30 minutes,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino said. “We are very content now after the game is over because Messi looked very comfortable.”

He did not say why Messi did not take a penalty.

Vissel hit the post twice in the first half and had by far the best chances in a match it largely dominated.

The match in Tokyo wrapped up Inter Miami’s global promotional tour — stretching from El Salvador to Dallas into Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong and ending in Tokyo.

Inter won only one of the six games. The Miami preseason wraps up on Feb. 16 in Florida against Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s boyhood club from Rosario, Argentina. Many expect him to finish his career there.

Inter Miami is loaded with former Barcelona players including Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets.

Andres Iniesta, another former Barcelona star, played several seasons in Japan with Vissel Kobe and spoke briefly to the crowd before the match.

Messi, who plays for Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, did not step onto the pitch to play against a Hong Kong XI on Sunday, causing outrage among fans. He has since said that he was kept off the field due to an injury but wanted to play.

“I couldn’t be in the Hong Kong game and it’s a shame because I always want to participate, I want to be there, especially when it’s about these types of games that we travel so far and that people are so excited to see our games,” Messi told reporters.

The 36-year-old’s huge popularity has had fans clamoring to watch Inter Miami’s games during the team’s preseason tour.

A sellout crowd of 40,000 attended the match in Hong Kong, but the occasion ended acrimoniously when fans booed, jeered and called for ticket refunds as Messi remained on the bench.

Even the Hong Kong government said it was “disappointed” that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t brought on during the match.

Miami manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino later explained that both Messi and former Barça teammate Luis Suárez had remained on the bench following advice from medical staff.

Inter Miami is now in Tokyo for the next leg of a preseason tour and will face Japanese side Vissel Kobe on Wednesday.

Messi added that he could understand why people were upset that he had not participated in the match, but expressed hope that Miami could play in Hong Kong again at some point.

When asked if he would be playing in the match against Vissel Kobe, the forward said, “If I’m honest, I still don’t know if I can or not, but I feel much better and I really want to be able to do it.”

We’re talking about Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s global tour of exhibition games where the main show has been Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning captain.

The matches are about promotion and marketing, hoping to build a new brand by using stars like Messi and Uruguayan Luis Suarez. Instead, the tour is getting mostly bad PR, and results that have not been much better in matches that have stretched from El Salvador, through Dallas, into Saudi Arabia, and then Hong Kong on Sunday.

The next stop is Tokyo’s National Stadium on Wednesday against Vissel Kobe, and a wrap-up match on Feb. 16 in Florida against Newell’s Old Boys — Messi’s boyhood club in Argentina, and the club that might be his final destination before retiring.

Through five games, Inter Miami has been outscored 12-7 and won only once. And that was Sunday in Hong Kong, where a 4-1 victory over the local team was overshadowed by angry fans holding up signs demanding a refund and booing since neither Messi nor Suarez played — both out injured and aging.

Messi is 36 and Suarez is 37, and both are more and more subject to nagging injuries.

“The marketing hype in promoting the event to global fans creates high expectations, coupled with government subsidy of the event,” John Grady, a sports law professor at the University of South Carolina, told The Associated Press. “This also raises the expectations that marquee players will appear as advertised.”

Even though fans know the games are for practice, and meaningless in the standings, they still choose to pay high prices and attend. As the phrase goes in Latin — caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware.”

“As more football teams recruit elite talent with large followings, including on social media, it creates a situation where non-appearance causes fan outrage and results in a public relations headaches,” Grady added.

Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino apologized for Messi’s absence after Sunday’s Hong Kong match. Fans who saw practice on Saturday at least saw the Argentina captain in a kick-around, with Miami co-owner David Beckham also on the field.

“We understand the disappointment of the fans for the absence of Leo (Messi) and Luis Suarez,” Martino said. “We understand a lot of fans are very disappointed and we ask for their forgiveness. We wish we could have sent Leo and Luis on for at least a while but the risk was too big.”

Messi came on for the last seven minutes in the 6-0 loss at Al-Nassr — one of the two matches in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — as Inter Miami prepares for its MLS season opener on Feb. 22.

It’s anyone’s guess if Messi will play on Wednesday in Japan, and if so, how much. Martino will certainly be under pressure to use him some, but Messi is sure to have the final say.

Inter Miami is to practice on Tuesday on the outskirts of Tokyo with snow in the forecast. Wednesday calls for sunny skies but temperatures at game time around freezing.

What started with overwhelming cheers and rapture ended in boos and calls for refunds in the sold-out, 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium.

Inter Miami — out to prove a point having gone winless during a worldwide pre-season tour — comfortably defeated a Hong Kong XI 4-1 in an event branded as Tatler XFEST Hong Kong.

But even in the lead-up to and during the game, there was the sense that the scoreline did not matter to fans; more important was witnessing Messi, a World Cup champion and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, grace the field.

Even Hong Kong’s government has shared its dismay at the 36-year-old not featuring in the match.

“Messi was not able to play in the friendly game today and the government and fans are equally disappointed at the arrangements by the event organiser,” it said in a statement on Sunday. “The event organiser owes fans an explanation.”

New signing Luis Suárez also did not feature despite attending the pre-match press conference, while other marquee players Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets were only substituted on in the second half.

The additional trophy presentation, fireworks and speech by club co-owner David Beckham were engulfed in whistles and jeers in a rather awkward end to the trip. The boos continued when the big-screen cameras panned to Messi.

The shift in mood had occurred towards the final 20 minutes of the game — the clamors of “We want Messi” turned into “Where is Messi?”, while boos rang out each time a player other than Messi was substituted onto the pitch.

Shouts of “refund, refund, refund” in both English and Cantonese could also be heard in injury time. According to Reuters, tickets went on sale in December and cost between 880 and 4,880 Hong Kong dollars (about $113 and $624).

CNN has contacted event organizer Tatler for comment.

In a statement on Sunday, Tatler XFEST expressed “extreme disappointment” that Messi and Suárez did not play in Hong Kong and said that it “did not have any information about the non-participation” of the players prior to kick-off.

Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino explained that the decision not to field Messi was made on very late notice and under the recommendation of the club’s medical staff.

“We understand the reception from the fans towards the absence of Leo and Luis,” Martino said apologetically, also thanking Hong Kong for the “care” they had received throughout the weekend.

“This was a decision made together with our medical team. We checked their physical wellbeing and they risked sustaining an injury if they went onto the pitch so they couldn’t play.

“We understand the disappointment from the fans and we ask for their forgiveness. We wish we could have played them for even a short while, but the risk was too big.”

Martino was pressed on the type of injury Messi had sustained as there were already reports that the star player was carrying a hamstring problem since Miami’s previous friendly against Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

“Leo has an inflammation of the adductor as we saw from the images of his muscles. We were expecting an improvement, but the situation has been there for many days,” Martino said, adding that Suarez sustained a knee injury during the Saudi Arabia trip.

“We were checking it constantly with the medical team, and we also had to consider our obligations with the upcoming MLS [Major League Soccer]. So we came to the conclusion not to play Messi in the match.

“In reality, we have been assessing Leo’s condition day-by-day. Yesterday [Saturday] he was in the final training [session], and we assessed it in the hotel until this morning. The decision was not made until the afternoon.”

Hong Kong XI captain Yapp Hung-fai, who played in the first-half of Sunday’s match, said he was “of course quite disappointed” not to have played against Messi, but was still appreciative of the experience.

“On a personal note, obviously quite disappointed because he doesn’t go to Hong Kong much,” said Yapp, who was captaining a team of players from across the first division.

“But we have to think about our own performance and not focus too much on the opponents, who were still of a high level. To play in a full stadium is already satisfying.”

The overall sentiment was shared by local Messi superfan Christer Leung, who spearheads the city’s Argentina national team supporters’ club.

“I think everyone’s disappointed,” Leung, who named his son Lionel after the forward, told CNN.

“It was unexpected, I thought he would feature for at least five minutes. Otherwise we wouldn’t have paid the ticket prices to get in here. You heard the mood, which was I think justified but uncalled for at the same time.

“This whole Messi in Hong Kong thing has been building up for quite some time. Everyone was so excited and there was so much drama with the tickets.

“The training session [on Saturday] was also quite disappointing because he didn’t really do much and it was cut short. Everyone expected today would be a little bit more, so everyone is going to be disappointed.

“But, as his supporter for a long time, I fully respect the decision not to play him if he is really suffering, because he’s 36.

“I blame Inter Miami scheduling so many friendlies in so many different places. They should have invited everyone to come to America. I guess they wanted to grow the brand internationally, which makes sense.”

“Messi mania” had captured the city with the team’s arrival on Friday as fans swarmed the hotel that Miami were staying at. Meanwhile, the stadium had already reached full capacity during the team’s open training session the evening before.

Ardent support for Messi also gripped mainland China last summer after the Argentina national team played a friendly match against Australia in Beijing.

It was the superstar’s seventh time in China, and his eighth could come in March as Argentina confirmed two friendly matches against Nigeria and Ivory Coast in Hangzhou and Beijing.

Inter Miami now travels to Japan for a friendly against Vissel Kobe on Wednesday.

Messi spent all but the final seven minutes on the Miami bench looking increasingly glum as Al-Nassr, cheered on by an appreciative Ronaldo sitting high in the Kingdom Arena stands recovering from a calf injury, ran riot in this friendly and scored three goals in the first 12 minutes.

Inside three minutes, Otavio fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner of Miami’s goal which had his Portuguese compatriot Ronaldo on his feet cheering and clapping. It happened again three minutes later as Brazil’s Anderson Talisca scored from close range.

Aymeric Laporte then did the opposite, sending a free-kick from inside the Al-Nassr half over the head of Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender, who sprinted back toward his goal in a vain attempt to block the unexpected shot.

The MLS team, 4-3 losers to Nassr’s Riyadh rival Al-Hilal three days previously in the first game of its Saudi Arabian tour, offered little in attack in the first half apart from a Luis Suarez volley.

After the break, the goals continued for Al-Nassr, which was also missing Sadio Mané to international duty with Senegal and five senior domestic players at the Asian Cup with the Saudi Arabian national team.

After 51 minutes, Talisca scored his second from the spot and midway through the half, Mohammed Maran headed a fifth. There was still time for Talisca to complete his hat trick and Miami’s humiliation.

Messi came on in the closing stages but had little impact.

Miami’s preseason tour continues in Asia with games in Hong Kong on Sunday and Japan three days later.

Ronaldo is recovering from a reported calf injury and will not be fit in time to play in the exhibition match between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami in Riyadh on Thursday.

“Cristiano is in the final stage of his recuperation before re-joining the team. We expect that in the next few days he will start working with the team. So, obviously, it will mean he is absent for the game (against Inter Miami),” Castro said at a news conference.

Messi and Ronaldo were longtime rivals when they played in Spain — for Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively — and have combined to win 13 of the last 15 Ballon d’Or awards given to the world’s best player.

The latest installment of that rivalry was seen as the highlight of Miami’s pre-season tour, which included two games in Saudi Arabia.

But that was put in doubt when Ronaldo suffered an injury that prompted Al-Nassr to postpone two exhibition matches in China this month.

Messi scored in Miami’s 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal on Monday.

The Major League Soccer team is playing two games in the oil-rich kingdom as part of its preseason preparations, but even Messi could not inspire it to victory in Riyadh.

While Messi got on the score sheet with a second-half penalty, Malcom came up with the decisive goal to win the match in the 88th.

Al-Hilal had been strongly linked with a move for Messi when he left Paris Saint-Germain and became the most sought-after free agent in the sport last year.

He ultimately opted for a move to the United States to join David Beckham’s Miami and quickly led the team to its first trophy, the Leagues Cup.

He and Miami will be hoping for even more success in his first full season and, the preparations include an extensive tour with stops in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan.

A potential showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nasser on Thursday is the most anticipated match.

Former Newcastle and Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic put Al-Hilal ahead in the 10th minute and Abdullah Al-Hamdan doubled the lead three minutes later.

Another of Miami’s superstar signings, Luis Suarez, pulled one back but Al-Hilal’s two-goal advantage was restored in the 44th by Michael.

Messi’s moment came in the 54th, and a minute later David Ruiz evened the score.

Just when Miami looked to have a draw, Malcom came up with the winner.

It’s wildly different this season.

Such is life in Lionel Messi’s world.

The soccer icon and Inter Miami have a two-game tour of Saudi Arabia this week, the first match on Monday against Al-Hilal and the second match coming Thursday against Al Nassr — one where Messi may share the pitch again with longtime rival and fellow great Cristiano Ronaldo, assuming the Portugal star has recovered enough from a calf injury to play.

The club already has played two exhibitions this year — one in El Salvador, one at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl — and has matches in Hong Kong and Japan still to come after the Saudi swing is complete. It’s basically an around-the-world, big-crowd, big-money, bright-spotlight batch of preseason games for Inter Miami, which instantly became a global brand when Messi announced last summer that he was joining the Major League Soccer club.

“It’s incredible,” said DeAndre Yedlin, the Inter Miami defender who was captain until Messi arrived. “Obviously, it’s not just one guy, but I think most of the focus is on Leo. So, it shows just kind of the influence that he’s had on the game and has had on the game. People want to know what he’s doing. People want to know anything that he’s involved with, what’s going on. It’s great for the league. It’s great for us.”

Inter Miami is in Saudi Arabia because of Messi, plain and simple. There is no bigger name in the game than the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and captain of reigning World Cup champion Argentina, and Messi — who had an offer to play in Saudi Arabia, which he turned down to join MLS and come to Inter Miami — is a Saudi ambassador to help promote tourism.

He was even suspended once by one of his former clubs, Paris Saint-Germain. for making an unauthorized trip to the country. But Inter Miami not only understands the value of having Messi, it welcomed this massive preseason stretch in advance of an MLS season that starts Feb. 21.

“Having the possibility of seeing Messi up close in this circumstance is really very valuable,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said in Spanish last week before the team departed on its 13 1/2-hour charter flight to Riyadh. “You have to see how many times these people are going to have this possibility.”

The financial benefit of Inter Miami and Messi playing in Saudi Arabia hasn’t been revealed. It’s reasonable to think it’s a big number, enough to help the MLS club offset at least some of Messi’s salary — he’s on a 2 1/2-year contract that will pay him around $150 million — and what the team spent to land the likes of Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez to play with him.

The Saudis have made clear that they’ll spend big for what they want; some have used the term “sportswashing ” when it comes to how the kingdom has spent billions bankrolling LIV Golf and attracting Formula One, boxing, horse racing, even BMX racing and professional wrestling. Much of this comes with great criticism. Messi’s fame hasn’t taken a hit from his association with the Saudis. Such is his power.

“What I love about Saudi,” Messi says in a marketing campaign for the country, “is that I always discover what I never expected.”

The trip itself speaks to how different everything for Inter Miami has become. The club faced Florida International University with no fans allowed in one of its preseason matches last season; this season, it’s facing Ronaldo with the soccer world watching for a result that won’t even count. The team had less than 1 million followers on Instagram; it has 16 million now, many of them no doubt driven there by the half-a-billion followers Messi has on that site.

An around-the-world trip for a whole new world makes sense.

“It’s a bit different and I think the upside to that is we get to experience some different teams, different kind of competition,” Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender said Sunday. “We’re looking at it as a challenge in a way to kind of develop as a team, exposing ourselves to different teams, different leagues. So, I think for us it’s still new, but I think everybody has a good feeling around it.”

Inter Miami celebrated its partnership with cruise line Royal Caribbean International on Tuesday by sending Messi and his teammates to the Port of Miami, where they took part in the traditional naming of a new ship — the Icon of the Seas, in this case. The ship, which formally sets sail for the first time this weekend, is the longest in the world at 1,198 feet.

Messi was the headliner at the ceremony, placing a soccer ball atop a stand to “start” the traditional breaking of a champagne bottle against the bow of the ship — something that is supposed to bring good luck to the vessel and its passengers.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner called it a “privilege.”

“It’s a great honor for me and I know what it means for the city of Miami and the entire world,” Messi said in Spanish. “So, I name this ship Icon of the Seas. God bless you and all of the people who will sail with her.”

At an earlier event inside a theater aboard the ship, Inter Miami showed off its new black kit for the 2024 season. Messi and his teammates removed pink zippered sweatshirts to reveal the black jersey, trimmed in the team’s traditional pink with a Royal Caribbean logo across the chest.

Messi and Inter Miami leave later this week for Saudi Arabia and a pair of matches next week as part of its international preseason tour. First up is a match against Al-Hilal on Jan. 29, and then on Feb. 1 it’s a match against Al Nassr — which features Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s longtime rival.

But Ronaldo’s health is in serious question. Al Nassr had a pair of matches that were scheduled to be held in China starting this week called off because of what organizers called “physical issues” for Ronaldo — reportedly a calf injury that could take two weeks to heal.

And that might mean Ronaldo vs. Messi won’t happen. At a news conference in China, Ronaldo apologized to fans and said injuries are something he couldn’t control.

Messi and Ronaldo have faced off 35 previous times between matches for club and country, with Messi’s teams winning 16, Ronaldo’s teams winning 10 and the sides settling for a draw on the other nine occasions. Messi has 21 goals and 12 assists in those matches; Ronaldo has 20 goals and one assist.

Messi took three shots in the first half and left the game about 15 minutes into the second half with Inter Miami trailing in front of an announced crowd of 32,221 in a game played in a drizzle and 40 degrees (4 Celsius).

Forward Jesús Ferreira scored on an uncontested shot three minutes into the match to give FC Dallas an early lead that held up.

Messi’s first two shots were saved by goalkeeper Maarten Paes, who dove to his left to deflect Messi’s second shot in the 12th minute. Messi’s third shot was wide left in the 27th minute.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner scored twice in Inter Miami’s comeback win over FC Dallas on Aug. 6 at Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco. FC Dallas moved 30 miles north in 2009 after playing its first 13 MLS seasons at the Cotton Bowl, which was a 1994 World Cup venue.

“We have a lot of good memories here from 1994 when Holland beat Brazil,” said Paes, who is from the Netherlands. “It is very historic and beautiful. I love playing in this stadium. The atmosphere was great and the pitch was perfect.”

Uruguayan star Luis Suárez, who teamed with Messi at FC Barcelona from 2014-20, played in his first match on American soil since joining Inter Miami in December. Suárez had two shots on goal in the first half, the first saved by Paes. The second sailed wide right in the 44th minute.

Inter Miami failed to score in its second straight preseason game after a 0-0 draw against El Salvador on Friday.

FC Dallas held off a flurry of shots in the second half behind a pair of replacement keepers in Jimmy Maurer and Antonio Carrera.

“To get to play against Lionel Messi is an unbelievable opportunity,” FC Dallas president Dan Hunt said prior to the match. “For most people, it’s a never. Most markets never get to bring him … you have the greatest probably of all time, with maybe the exception of Pele, and you get to have him twice in your market. Once we hosted at our home, and then we get to share with a different part of the community in Dallas.”

The 36-year-old Messi arrived in Miami last July and scored 10 goals in seven games. He led the club to its first-ever trophy by winning the Leagues Cup final on Aug. 19.

Inter Miami will travel to Saudi Arabia to face Al Hilal next Monday and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on Feb. 2.

The team made the announcement on Saturday.

Farías was hurt about 20 minutes into the second half of Friday’s game at El Salvador. He had replaced Messi at halftime of the match, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

The match against El Salvador’s national team was the first of seven preseason contests — in five different countries — for Inter Miami. The team plays at FC Dallas on Monday, then leaves for Saudi Arabia for matches against Al-Hilal and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr on Jan. 29 and Feb. 1.

From there, the team travels to a match in Hong Kong on Feb. 4, Japan on Feb. 7 and back home for a preseason finale against the Argentinian side Newell’s Old Boys — Messi’s hometown team — on Feb. 15.

The 21-year-old Farías signed with Inter Miami last summer through the 2026 season, the Argentinian’s arrival coming a few weeks after Messi decided to come to Major League Soccer and sign with the team. There are options for 2027 and 2028 as part of Farías’ deal.

The Argentina star played in the first half alongside Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, his new teammate for the upcoming MLS season. Suarez reunited with Messi in Miami after the pair played six seasons together with Barcelona.

Fans packed the Cuscatlán stadium several hours before the start. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, took the opportunity to meet Messi and hosted the team at the Presidential House ahead of the game.

Messi had a couple of scoring chances and set up Jordi Alba for a scoring opportunity in the 39th minute, but goalkeeper Mario González deflected the shot.

Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino rested Messi, Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets in the second half. The club still controlled possession, but El Salvador had the best scoring chance when Steven Vázquez’s shot rattled the crossbar in the 83rd minute.

The 36-year-old Messi arrived in Miami last July and scored 10 goals in seven games. He led the club to its first-ever trophy by winning the Leagues Cup final on Aug. 19.

Inter Miami will play FC Dallas next Monday at the Cotton Bowl and then will travel to Saudi Arabia to face Al Hilal on Jan. 29 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on Feb. 2.

Messi is entering his first full season with Inter Miami, which creates an obvious storyline that seems to be on everyone’s mind as MLS teams enter their preseason training camps. And a franchise that hasn’t come close to winning an MLS Cup — and didn’t even make the playoffs last season, even with Messi around for the last few months — suddenly seems like a frontrunner entering 2024.

So, yes, Messimania continues, with no signs of slowing down.

“Even as an opposition coach, everyone’s looking in the calendar for the Miami game,” Toronto coach John Herdman said. “I mean, it’s a really exciting time for MLS to have the best player, in my opinion, who ever played the game in this league. … The league has got some of the best facilities, some of the best fan bases, and now we’ve got the best player ever playing the game, so it’s the place to be.”

Inter Miami went through a complete revamping last season, not only adding Messi but also bringing Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino aboard — and then reuniting Messi with another of his former Barcelona teammates in Luis Suarez last month.

It worked, to a point. The team won Leagues Cup for its first-ever trophy, but injuries — including one sidelining Messi — took a toll and Inter Miami didn’t make the MLS playoffs. Now, Inter Miami gets a full season of Messi, Busquets, Alba and Suarez together, and it’s reasonable to expect far more success.

“He’s obviously one of the greatest to ever do it,” midfielder Darlington Nagbe of the reigning MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew said of Messi. “He’s got a great coach in Tata, who I worked with in Atlanta. Definitely looking forward to big things from them and how they’re going to impact the league. I definitely expect them to be in the running for MLS Cup and all the competitions that they’re in. It just makes the league better, makes the players better, draws more players that want to come to the league and be a part of it.”

Messi is, by far, the league’s biggest drawing card — ever. That’s not in dispute, with him now being an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner after picking up yet another of those trophies late last year and still being the leader of reigning World Cup champion Argentina. His presence drew more eyeballs to MLS than ever before, his jersey rocketed to No. 1 on the MLS sales list, tickets to Inter Miami matches became the hottest in the league and him picking the league gave it a certain added level of legitimacy that some in the global soccer world might not have seen beforehand.

To think what could happen if Messimania reaches the playoffs in 2024.

“As soon as he came to MLS, there was interest, interest from supporters, interest from coaches from all around the world,” new Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith said. “And that’s not going to lessen. He was lifting the World Cup only 14, 15 months ago. It was a big coup for the league and it certainly, I think, changed everybody’s aspects on the MLS now.”

The core four of Inter Miami is not young, of course. Suarez turns 37 later this month. Messi turns 37 in June. Busquets turns 36 in July. Alba turns 35 in March. It will be a daunting grind between basically an around-the-world preseason trip to Saudi Arabia and Japan, all the national team responsibilities, Leagues Cup, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions Cup — and the 34-game MLS regular season.

That said, nobody seems to be betting against them — not even those who’ll play against them. Such is the power of Messi.

“I mean, when you look at those four players and what they’ve achieved together, it’s hard to say they’re not favorites,” New York Red Bulls midfielder Emil Forsberg said. “Fantastic team, fantastic players. And they know what to do and how to win. … I would also say a little bit that Miami are the favorites when you look at the players they have.”

The team made the announcement on Monday.

Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri has a capacity of about 76,000. It is the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and the oldest of the 11 U.S. sites for the 2026 World Cup.

Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas, the soccer team’s home since 2011, has a capacity of about 18,000. The soccer team, then known as the Kansas City Wizards, played at Arrowhead Stadium from 1996 through 2007 and used the larger stadium for a 2010 exhibition against Manchester United that drew of 52,424.

Single game tickets go on sale Jan. 16 and start at $65, Sporting KC said.

Suárez and Messi spent six seasons together at Barcelona, winning four Spanish league titles and nine other trophies — including a Champions League title — in that span. Suárez is coming off a season where he was best player and best striker in the Brazilian league with Gremio.

“I’m very happy and excited to take on this new challenge with Inter Miami,” Suárez said. “I can’t wait to get started, and I’m ready to work to make the dream of winning more titles with this great club a reality. I’m optimistic about what we can achieve together with our shared ambition.”

There had been speculation for months that Suárez would join Inter Miami, especially given his relationship with Messi. Inter Miami won its first trophy — the Leagues Cup — last season shortly after Messi arrived, his signing part of an overhaul that brought elite talent like Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to the club, along with coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino. Busquets and Alba also played for Barcelona alongside Messi, and Martino is a former Barcelona coach.

Now, Suárez joins that mix. He turns 37 in January — Messi is 36, Busquets is 35 and Alba turns 35 in March, so Inter Miami will surely have some workloads to manage. And Suárez has struggled with intense knee pain, but clearly the lure of playing with Messi again was too strong to ignore.

“Luis is a fierce competitor whose winning drive embodies what we want out of our players,” Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said. “We promised our fans we would pursue the world’s best players to build a squad that can compete at the highest echelons in the Americas. Coming off an award-winning season in Brazil, Luis will be a key addition to our roster.”

Suárez brings a colorful and successful history to Inter Miami.

With Suárez, Uruguay ended 20 years of World Cup underachievement by reaching the semifinals in 2010. He helped deliver Uruguay’s first Copa America title in 16 years in 2011. He was instrumental in Atletico Madrid’s first Spanish title in seven years in 2021.

He also is known for an infamous intentional handball in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals to take a semifinal spot from Ghana and served bans on three occasions for biting opponents — the most recent of those in 2014, after he chomped down on the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini following a tussle in the penalty area during a World Cup match.

“I will give my all to bring joy to these great fans I’ve heard so much about while I wear Inter Miami colors, and look forward to reuniting with great friends and players,” Suárez said. “I’m also eager to meet my new teammates and coaches.”

MLS released its schedule Wednesday, with each team playing 34 matches, The New York Red Bulls offered a holiday ticket promotion with one catch, that a game against Miami wouldn’t be included. Miami visits the Red Bulls on March 23 during a FIFA international fixture window when Messi could be with Argentina.

Because of the June FIFA window and the Copa América, Messi also could be with defending champion Argentina when Miami plays at Philadelphia (June 15), vs. Columbus (June 19), at Nashville (June 29), at Charlotte (July 3) and at Cincinnati (July 6). Following the Copa América final on July 14, Miami also has home matches against Toronto (July 17) and Chicago (July 20).

Unlike most leagues, MLS schedules games during some FIFA fixture periods, when release of players to national teams is mandatory.

MLS scheduled 11 openers on Feb. 24, three the following day and Vancouver starting on March 2. Salt Lake will have just two days off before playing at St. Louis on Feb. 24.

The regular season ends with 14 games on Oct. 19; the only team in the 29-team league not playing that day is Toronto, which finishes on Oct. 5 at home against Miami.

Messi joined Miami midway through 2023 and appeared in only six MLS regular-season matches with the club — though led the team to its first trophy by winning the Leagues Cup shortly after his arrival.

The Real Salt Lake match marks the first meeting between that club and Miami. Also playing Inter Miami for the first time this season: Colorado (in Fort Lauderdale on April 6) and Vancouver (in British Columbia on May 25).

MESSI SCHEDULE
The way the MLS schedule works, teams play their conference rivals twice, once home and once away. In Inter Miami’s case, that allows for six games against the Western Conference — meaning the only West cities Messi would play MLS matches in this season are Los Angeles (against the Galaxy on Feb. 25), Kansas City (April 13) and Vancouver (May 26).

The West teams that come to Fort Lauderdale for matches where they could see Messi are Salt Lake (the Feb. 21 opener), Colorado (April 6) and St. Louis (June 1).

The teams with no matches against Inter Miami as part of the MLS regular season: Seattle, LAFC, Houston, FC Dallas, San Jose, Portland, Minnesota and Austin.

LEAGUES CUP
The Leagues Cup, a tournament involving MLS teams and teams from Mexico’s top league — the event that Inter Miami won last year — is scheduled for July 26 through Aug. 25. There are no MLS regular season matches planned in that window.

The tournament begins two days after the MLS All-Star Game, to be played July 24 in Columbus.

MLS CUP REMATCH
Columbus, which beat Los Angeles FC 2-1 earlier this month in the MLS Cup championship game, will visit LAFC on July 13.

The 2024 MLS Cup final will be Dec. 7.

EL TRAFICO
The LA Galaxy and LAFC will meet at the Rose Bowl once again on July 4 for El Tráfico, just as the teams did last year when setting an MLS attendance record of 82,110 fans.

SEASON OPENERS
A list of opening matches:

• Atlanta — visit Columbus, Feb. 24
• Austin — host Minnesota, Feb. 24
• Cincinnati — host Toronto, Feb. 25
• Charlotte — host NYCFC, Feb. 24
• Chicago — visit Philadelphia, Feb. 24
• Colorado — visit Portland, Feb. 24
• Columbus — host Atlanta, Feb. 24
• Dallas — host San Jose, Feb. 24
• D.C. United — host New England, Feb. 24
• Houston — host Kansas City, Feb. 24
• Inter Miami — host Real Salt Lake, Feb. 21
• Kansas City — visit Houston, Feb. 24
• LAFC — host Seattle, Feb. 24
• LA Galaxy — host Inter Miami, Feb. 25
• Minnesota — visit Austin, Feb. 24
• Montreal — visit Orlando, Feb. 24
• Nashville — host NY Red Bulls, Feb. 25
• New England — visit D.C. United, Feb. 24
• NYCFC — visit Charlotte, Feb. 24
• NY Red Bulls — visit Nashville, Feb. 25
• Orlando — host Montreal, Feb. 24
• Philadelphia — host Chicago, Feb. 24
• Portland — host Colorado, Feb. 24
• Real Salt Lake — visit Inter Miami, Feb. 21
• St. Louis — host Real Salt Lake, Feb. 24
• San Jose — visit Dallas, Feb. 24
• Seattle — visit LAFC, Feb. 24
• Toronto — visit Cincinnati, Feb. 25
• Vancouver — host Charlotte, March 2

Inter Miami will face Japanese league champion Vissel Kobe at the Japan National Stadium on Feb. 7. That will be the fourth match of a tour that includes games in Saudi Arabia — including one pitting Messi against longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo — on Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, and a game against a team of pro players from Hong Kong on Feb. 4.

Among those on the Vissel Kobe roster: Andrés Iniesta, who once teamed up with Messi and fellow Inter Miami players Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at Barcelona. Iniesta also was teammates with Busquets when Spain won the 2010 World Cup.

Inter Miami now has five preseason matches announced; there’s the four on the Saudi Arabia-Hong Kong-Japan trip and another in El Salvador on Jan. 19.

The team will begin preseason training in early January and the Major League Soccer regular season is set to begin in February.

The club revealed plans Thursday for a Feb. 4 match there on its first international tour, part of its preseason before the 2024 Major League Soccer campaign. Messi and Inter Miami will face a team composed of top players from the First Division league in Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong is a beautiful city with a great sports scene,” Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham said in remarks distributed by the team. “Throughout my career, I have spent a lot of time in Asia — I am so pleased to have the opportunity to bring Inter Miami to play our first international tour match in this fantastic city.”

The match will be hosted at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.

Inter Miami previously revealed plans to play in El Salvador on Jan. 19. The team was scheduled to play in China last month but plans for that two-game trip fell through.

Inter Miami said additional “preseason matches and destinations will be announced in the coming weeks.”

The $421 seats are located behind the end line in the bottom deck at Lower.com Field, according to a Ticketmaster webpage linked to the team’s website. The price does not include fees.

Individual ticket prices increase to $746 plus fees for seats closer to midfield.

The match vs. Miami is the only 2024 Crew home game with individual seats listed for sale. The date of the match has not been announced; last year, MLS announced its schedule on Dec. 20.

Crew spokesman Rob McBurnett did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The New York Red Bulls last week offered a holiday two-game ticket promotion involving next season’s home opener and their home match against rival New York City but included in small print that a match against Miami would not be included if it is the home opener.

Messi, captain of World Cup champion Argentina, joined Miami in July. The 36-year-old attacker scored at the Red Bulls in his MLS debut on Aug. 26, his only goal in six league matches. He missed six league games after joining the team.

The Red Bulls distributed an email to consumers on Tuesday offering a two-game “Holiday Pack” that includes next season’s home opener and the derby against rival New York City FC. Price per ticket pack ranges from $98 for upper corners/endline, $125 for corner endline/upper sideline, $174 for sideline A/upper center midfield and $495 for club seats. A travel mug and collectible figure is included in each pack.

But there is an asterisk next to the home opener, and at the bottom of the email the asterisk is explained in small type: “If RBNY plays Inter Miami CF in the home opener, each home opener ticket will be replaced with a ticket to RBNY’s 2nd home match.”

MLS last year announced its schedule on Dec. 20.

The Red Bulls declined to comment on the promotion, spokesman Zachary Lahey said Wednesday.

Messi, captain of World Cup champion Argentina, joined Miami in July. The 36-year-old attacker scored at the Red Bulls in his MLS debut on Aug. 26, his only goal in six league matches. He was in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, playing as Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.

The longtime rivals could go head-to-head next year, despite playing their soccer on different continents these days.

Messi’s Inter Miami will travel to Saudi Arabia in February to take part in the Riyadh Season Cup, which also includes Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. The three-team tournament will be completed by Neymar’s Al-Hilal, but the Brazil international is unlikely to feature after tearing his ACL last month.

“The excitement and global interest that we expect this tournament to generate expands upon one of our main aspirations for Riyadh Season — to create international events that visitors to Riyadh and fans around the world can all enjoy,” said Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.

Saudi Arabia has made a major push to be a big player in world soccer by signing some of the game’s biggest players. But it couldn’t lure Messi to the oil-rich kingdom when he left Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season, with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner opting to move to MLS instead.

Messi took part in last season’s Riyadh Season Cup with PSG and also came up against Ronaldo after the Portugal great’s surprise move to Al Nassr. In May, Messi was fined and suspended by the French club for taking an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia.

Messi, who led Argentina to triumph at last year’s World Cup, has already won his first trophy with the David Beckham co-owned Miami — the Leagues Cup in August.

Messi and Ronaldo are widely considered to be two of the greatest players of all-time and competed against each other for soccer’s biggest prizes during their prime years at Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.

Both have left European soccer behind but have shown little sign of giving up their ambition to add to their legacies.

Ronaldo has led Portugal to next year’s European Championship and Messi will be aiming to retain the Copa America for Argentina at next year’s tournament.

Sadio Mane has also joined Al Nassr as part of Saudi Arabia’s drive to lure more star names amid allegations of sportswashing.

While Neymar is recovering from surgery, Al-Hilal should still have Alexsandr Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in its lineup.

The Riyadh Season Cup is scheduled to be held in the first week of February at Kingdom Arena. The schedule has not been announced, but the three teams will play in a round-robin tournament.

Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson said Monday that nothing had been finalized or was ready to be announced about the team’s preseason plans. It will resume training in the second week of January, with the expectation that the MLS season will begin in late February. Henderson said he thought the team would need between four and six preseason matches, split between the U.S. and overseas.

The club had plans to play two matches in China earlier this month, but that trip — which could have led to more than 100,000 tickets being sold — fell through for logistical reasons. Inter Miami didn’t make any international tours in its first three seasons; getting Messi in Year 4 changed everything.

“I really felt like, overnight, we became a global club,” Henderson said Monday. “Eyes all over the world are watching what we’re doing. And what comes with that are these tours and preseason opportunities that we have as a club, so we’re working closely with the front office as they negotiate some of those preseason tours.”

Oh, and there’s national team duties for some players, too.

Add it all up, and Lionel Messi — the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner who turns 37 next summer — and many of his Inter Miami teammates will be asked to play a ton of soccer in 2024. And keeping Messi and other players as available as possible is part of the team’s thinking as it formulates its plan for next year, Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson said Monday.

“I think the challenge is, from our performance staff, what can we do as a club to support these players and make sure that they are able to give as many minutes as they can,” Henderson said. “But there are times when we’re going to have to balance the schedule.”

Injuries were an issue for Inter Miami down the stretch this season, and Messi — who had a very busy schedule after joining the team, with the Leagues Cup tournament going on as well as U.S. Open Cup and MLS matches — eventually was slowed by a leg problem. Messi told reporters after an Argentina match in October that “it was very hard for us, playing every three days, with travel, with training.”

“We’re not machines, we’re not robots,” Sergio Busquets, another of Inter Miami’s big midseason signings this summer, said in September. “We’d love to play all the matches and not be tired and not have injuries. But it’s something we can’t control.”

Henderson said teams will rely on their depth when the schedule is at its busiest. It’s also a good problem for teams to have going forward. Taking part of the CONCACAF Champions Cup is of particular significance to the club in 2024, coming on the heels of it winning the Leagues Cup title for its first trophy — the record 44th championship for the club and country in Messi’s legendary career.

“I do think there’s a lot of discussion at the league level in how we can alleviate some of these international windows and the congestion of the schedule,” Henderson said. “But I think with the amount of tournaments that teams are taking part of with international duty, it’s very hard to figure out. There’s just isn’t enough game days to sort it all out.”

The auction house said Monday that it will put up for sale in New York six of the seven first-half shirts the Argentina captain wore in Qatar, including the one he donned in the dramatic win in the final against France.

Argentina won the final, and its third World Cup, in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw at the Lusail Stadium, in which Messi had scored two goals.

Sotheby’s, which was founded in London in 1744, will offer Messi’s shirts in New York between Nov. 30 and Dec. 14. The shirts will be on view at its New York headquarters in a free, public exhibition during the bidding dates.

It is working with U.S.-based tech startup AC Momento, which partners with high-profile athletes to help manage their match-worn memorabilia.

The current record for a game-worn item of sports memorabilia is Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey, which sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York in Sept. 2022.

The current record for a game-worn item of soccer memorabilia is a shirt Diego Maradona wore in Argentina’s infamous 1986 quarterfinal 2-1 victory over England, where he infamously scored one goal with his hand, a goal he said owed much to the “Hand of God.” That sold for $9.3 million at Sotheby’s in London in May 2022.

Winning, and lifting, the World Cup last year meant Messi emulated the feat of Maradona in 1986, the previous time Argentina won the trophy.

A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to UNICAS Project, led by Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) Barcelona Children’s Hospital with the support of the Leo Messi Foundation, to meet the needs of children suffering from rare diseases.

The 36-year-old Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami in the MLS, spent 17 years at Barcelona, winning Spain’s league on numerous occasions and the European Champions League on four occasions. He has won the Ballon d’Or, which is presented annually to the game’s top player, a record eight times.

But it was with his belated triumph in Qatar that cemented his place among the all-time greats Pele and Maradona.

That’s why his shirts are potentially so valuable.