Miami’s ‘saviour’ Messi hungry for more

Miami, August 18

Lionel Messi has won just about everything there is to win in soccer but said yesterday that bringing Inter Miami their first ever trophy would be “incredible” and “a beautiful thing”.

Languishing at the bottom of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference standings there had been nothing pretty about Inter Miami’s season until Messi’s arrival in South Florida last month.

But now things could not look any brighter.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has been a terror from his first game scoring nine goals in six matches powering Miami into tomorrow’s Leagues Cup final where they will face Nashville SC.

“Well it would be incredible wouldn’t it? Both for me and for everyone who supports the club,” Messi said. “It would be really impressive.”

After two seasons with French champions Paris St Germain and leading Argentina to victory at the Qatar World Cup in December, Messi has brought a winning culture to Inter Miami while putting the football spotlight on a club co-owned by former-England captain and Manchester United great David Beckham.

“I came here with the desire to get the same results I’d achieved previously in my sporting career,” explained Messi, whose trophy case also includes 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona, UEFA Champions League and Copa America victories and an Olympic gold medal. “We feel that we’re prepared for this. We feel ready to compete and win this title.” — Reuters