Lionel Messi to face his first love with Inter Miami

Inter Miami’s season is about to come to an end after failing to qualify for the MLS playoffs and Tata Martino’s side are preparing for a number of tours in order to stay fit and prepare for the season ahead. After confirming a trip to China for the middle of next month, David Beckham’s club appear to have wrapped up another fixture, one that will be very special for star man Leo Messi. Newell’s Old Boys president Ignacio Astore has confirmed that a match between the Argentine outfit and Inter Miami will take place early next year.

“The friendly between Newell’s and Inter Miami will be on 17 February as part of the presentation of the team and their jersey,” Astore told Zapping Sport. Messi will face the club where it all began for him, in Rosario, Argentina. Although the Argentina captain never played professionally for Newell’s, his love for the club has never been a secret, and last June he attended a match at the Marcelo Bielsa Stadium.

The match will take place at Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium ahead of the club’s next MLS campaign. It is not yet known when and how tickets will go on sale to watch the much-anticipated match, but it is expected that the Florida franchise’s stadium will be sold out as soon as a date is confirmed.

Will Messi retire in Argentina?

Despite his relatively recent arrival in MLS, many fans dream of seeing Messi wearing the shirt of his former club and playing in Argentina’s top tier before he hangs up his boots. Messi himself left the door open to that possibility recently, saying “Personally, I always had the idea, especially after winning the World Cup, of enjoying Argentine football. When I was a kid, I used to go to the stadium. It was my dream to play there.”