Minisite Gear

Experience the pulse of the Americas with Minisite Gear: Your go-to destination for digital news and analysis.

Does Messi confirm his Inter Miami debut date?
Recent news

Does Messi confirm his Inter Miami debut date?

(Spanish CNN) — After his presentation with Inter Miami on Sunday, Argentine star Lionel Messi seemed to confirm the date of his debut with the American club.

On his official Instagram account, Messi thanked all the fans who attended his presentation event and, at the end of his message, wrote: “See you on Friday.”

Friday, July 21 is Inter Miami’s first game in the League Cup and they will face Mexico’s Cruz Azul. It was precisely this date that was given a few days ago by the owner-manager of the club, Jorge Mas, as a possible start for the Argentine star.

Along with the nod to his debut, Messi commented that the event of his presentation was different from what was originally planned due to the rain in the area, “but still and everything was beautiful”.

Celebrations for the event were originally scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, but heavy rain caused a two-hour delay.

The party around the DRV PNK stadium by Lionel Messi 2:02

But even rain in South Florida couldn’t stop the Argentine superstar’s presentation and fans stoically held on to the venue until it finally began.

“I want to thank the people of Miami for this welcome since I arrived in this city,” Messi told supporters at the Fort Lauderdale stadium.

“The truth is that I’m very excited, very happy to be here in Miami and to be with you… I really want to start training and competing. I come here with the same desire to compete, desire to win and to help the club continue to grow”.

“I hope that during all this time they will continue to support us as they have done since the start of the season,” Messi continued. “I am very happy to have chosen this city with my family, to have chosen this project… I have no doubt that we are going to have a good time. Thank you all for this day.”

‘We were literally competing against Saudi Arabia’ by Messi

In an interview with CNN, Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber described Messi’s arrival in the league as “impressive”.

“When you ask the best player in the world to decide to move to the United States, move to Miami, put on the Inter Miami shirt and be introduced to thousands of screaming fans last night, that’s enough. impressive,” Garber said, referring to Lionel Messi, in an interview with CNN on Monday morning.

Garber said bringing Messi to Inter Miami “is really chasing the momentum” for the league and also said there was “literal” competition with Saudi Arabia for the Argentine star.

“It’s a great story that when David (Beckham) came into the league he really shocked the world,” Garber said. “He arrived at the height of his career, at the age of 31, at the Los Angeles Galaxy. Our league is still young and in its infancy, and even then David wanted to work hard to try to build the nation of football that MLS worked to try to create throughout all these careers (…) But it’s a dimension that goes much further than that. We were literally in competition with Saudi Arabia, which became a real strength in sports.

With reporting by CNN’s Jill Martin.