FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi says he will play in Inter Miami's season finale on Saturday, although the club hasn't confirmed that is the actual plan.
Messi — who scored two goals for Argentina in its 2-0 World Cup qualifying win at Peru on Tuesday night — wasn't in the lineup for Inter Miami's final home game of its Major League Soccer season against Charlotte on Wednesday night.
That was expected. This part was not: Messi told reporters in Peru that he wants to play once more for Inter Miami before his inaugural MLS season ends, which means he's intending to play in Charlotte on Saturday — even though that match will be played on artificial turf.
“I'll play the game that is left now,” Messi said.
Inter Miami was eliminated from MLS playoff contention earlier this month. Coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said earlier this week that there was “a chance” Messi could play Saturday, and that the team would evaluate where he's at physically upon his return to Miami following the qualifying games with Argentina.
Even the hope of Messi playing seems to be a big boost to ticket sales. Charlotte has sold more than 60,000 tickets in its 74,000-seat stadium for Saturday's match, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
Messi's commitment to Argentina for World Cup qualifying would have kept him out of Wednesday’s match — which was a rescheduled game, after both teams went deep in the Leagues Cup tournament and needed to move the matchup — anyway. With Saturday being meaningless in the standings, it was assumed that Inter Miami would take no unnecessary risks with Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world's top player. And it seems very likely that Messi will become an eight-time winner of that award when this year's recipient is announced in Paris on Oct. 30.
Messi is also expected to play in Inter Miami’s colors in early November, when the team plays two exhibition matches in China. It’ll be the first time Inter Miami goes on a foreign tour.
Messi has 11 goals in 13 matches with Inter Miami this season. The team has gone 8-1-4 when he plays; seven of those matches were on the team’s run to win its first-ever trophy by claiming the Leagues Cup championship. He has also appeared in five MLS games and one U.S. Open Cup semifinal.
But a leg injury derailed his season, and essentially ended Inter Miami’s chances of making the postseason. Miami entered Wednesday 1-3-2 in six matches without Messi since he joined the club. He was able to play as a reserve on Oct. 7 against Cincinnati, but Inter Miami lost 1-0 in the outcome that sealed its playoff elimination.
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