The Argentine icon secured his eighth Golden Ball in Paris on Monday night, putting him three steps ahead of his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite his achievement as the 2022 World Cup champion, Messi demonstrated remarkable professionalism by swiftly crossing the Atlantic to rejoin his club teammates for Tuesday morning’s training session. Miami players paid tribute with a guard of honour, launching confetti cannons as he sprinted through their ranks.
Later, a group photo was taken with the entire squad, featuring a prominent number 8 to commemorate his latest accolade. Inter Miami also took to their social media platforms, welcoming him home with the message “Bienvenido a casa, ganador” (Welcome home, winner) and celebrating “Ocho para nuestro 10” (Eight for our number 10).
This is likely Messi’s final Ballon d’Or triumph, given that the Argentine, who turns 37 in June, is unlikely to contend for the award in 2024. In fact, apart from Messi and Ronaldo, no other player has won the award more than three times, a record shared by Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten.
Inter Miami had plans to embark on an offseason tour in China, but this could soon be officially cancelled due to potential “issues” with the promoter. Nonetheless, the players are persevering in their training efforts, keeping themselves in shape in case their season gets extended, as they narrowly missed out on the MLS playoffs.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini
This season he played in total 6 times for 372 minutes for Major League Soccer.
Lionel Messi scored 1 goal for Inter Miami. He procured twice assists. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 14th in Major League Soccer. In the last match Inter Miami lost 1-0 against Charlotte.
Inter Miami performance and stats
Inter Miami is currently 14th in the Major League Soccer with 34 points.
In the last 34 games, it has won 9 times, drawn 7 times, and lost 18 times. In its last match, Inter Miami lost 1-0 against Charlotte.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 41 goals and conceding 54.