Mega Messi mania in Miami: ‘MLS is a tough competition for stars’

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The stage? Out of stock. The fans? Euphoric. It is only the presentation of newcomer Lionel Messi (36) that will let the audience romp in Inter Miami’s Drive Pink Stadium on Sunday.

Mega Messi mania in Miami. On the night of Saturday, the Leagues Cup superstar must appear in America for the first time. The seven-time world footballer is now the big number in the MLS. It makes sense that he replaces Nati star and Chicago whirlwind Xherdan Shaqiri (31) with his equivalent of 7.3 million francs as the top earner in the league. Messi is expected to earn about 45 million francs in Florida.

But the big question is: what will Messi bring to the field? Miracles are expected from the world champion. Because Miami is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Someone who knows what Messi expects in the US is José Goncalves (37). The former Champions League player from Thun and current FCZ team manager played for New England from 2014 to 2017, defending against then MLS stars such as Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and David Villa.

Gonçalves warns that Messi expects anything but a comfortable end to his career in the United States. “The MLS is a tough competition for the stars,” he told Blick. Because the game is rustic and overly difficult? “No, not because of the hardness, but a clear playing style has not yet developed in the US. Still, a lot is expected of the star players.”

For example, in Messi’s home league in Spain, almost all teams play very technically, which suits the fleas. Or the Premier League is very physical, with a lot of tackles – probably no coincidence that the Argentine never ended up on the island.

Gonçalves: “Or in Italy the teams are very strong tactically. The MLS lacks such a feature of the league, even though great progress is being made. Messi alone won’t do much.” Also because he has to adapt from game to game.

The FCZ team manager is convinced that the football star alone will not lead the club to success: “Messi needs good teammates. He can’t do anything alone.” The Miami bosses around David Beckham seem to take that into account. Because in addition to Sergio Busquets (35), Jordi Alba (34) and Luis Suárez (36) would also be other former Barcelona stars.

No superstar has ever become an MLS leading scorer

Goncalves: «If they all come, it will be easier for Messi. He will certainly score a few goals, he has the quality. But he’s also getting older.”

A look at history shows that an aging superstar like Henry, Villa or Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never been an MLS top scorer. The best clipper of 2022: the relatively unknown German Hany Mukhtar (28) from Nashville.

Source : Blick