Inter Miami will face Cruz Azul in the first match of the Coupe des Ligues.
The game is expected to start at 8 p. m. ET, five p. m. PT, 1 a. m. BST.
Messi had hoped to start the game on the bench before his last appearance.
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July 21, 2023 at 3:30 PM EDT
The signing of Lionel Messi by Inter Miami was seen this Saturday.
But the striker continues to receive money from Barcelona, despite leaving the club two years ago.
Barcelona are expected to continue paying Messi until 2025 due to unpaid wages dating back to the club’s cost-cutting measures over the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can watch The Athletic’s explainer video here.
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Why Barcelona will have to pay Lionel Messi until 2025, even if he moves to Inter Miami
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July 21, 2023, 3:15 PM EDT
He is the biggest signing in MLS history and The Athletic brings you an essential account of how a successful move was made.
In the room below, we explain:
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Inside the deal between Lionel Messi and Inter Miami: see the Saudis, the inventory gives and the secret of Beckham and company.
July 21, 2023 at 3:00 PM EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
MLS is making any and all efforts to crown Inter Miami in the League Cup.
It showed that MLS Season Pass will feature “enhanced production” for Inter Miami games: 18 cameras, 4 super slow motion cameras, Skycam and a drone. . .
July 21, 2023, 2:45 p. m. EDT
Messi’s number 10 shirts for Barcelona and Argentina remain an icon of football history, so much so that it was frankly to see him wear the number 30 in his two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain (even though in the past he had worn that number as a young man with Barca).
Now, Messi is returning to a classic: he will wear the number 10 for Miami, which he has deliberately kept empty throughout the season in the hope/anticipation of his arrival.
July 21, 2023 at 2:30 PM EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
“I am very pleased to begin this next level of my career with Inter Miami and in the United States,” Lionel Messi said in his presentation against Inter Miami last week.
“This is an opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project.
“The concept is to work in combination to achieve the goals we’ve set for ourselves, and I can’t wait to start helping here in my new home. “
July 21, 2023, 2:15 p. m. EDT
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham said last week that he had “dreamed” of bringing a player like Lionel Messi to Miami.
“Ten years ago, when I started my adventure to build a new team in Miami, I said I dreamed of bringing the world’s top players to this city. Players who shared the ambition I had when I joined the LA Galaxy to help grow soccer in the United States and build a legacy for the next generation in the game we love so much,” Beckham said in quotes posted on the club’s official website.
“Today, that dream has come true. I couldn’t be prouder to have a player of Leo’s caliber sign up for our club, but I’m also thrilled to welcome a smart friend, an amazing user, and his adorable circle of family to join our Inter Miami community. The next phase of our adventure starts here, and I can’t wait to see Leo out on the field. “
“It is an honor to welcome Leo Messi and his circle of family to their new home,” said owner Jorge Mas.
“In 2018, we promised ourselves to build an ambitious club that attracts the world’s elite. A club that has the global vision of soccer in the United States and makes sure that wherever soccer is talked about, its Inter Miami is part of the conversation. A sincere thank you to our enthusiasts who have never stopped believing. Together, we will continue to turn dreams into reality. “
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July 21, 2023 at 2:00 pm EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
All Inter Miami matches will be available for international streaming (with some exceptions) through Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass subscription service. In the United States, some matches will also air on Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes and League Cup matches will be available on Univision/Unimas/TUDN.
For the first two games of the Inter Miami League Cup, the Season Pass will feature “enhanced production” that includes “18 cameras, Steadicam, 4 super slow motion cameras, Skycam, a drone, secondary reporters in Spanish and English, a one-hour pre-game exhibition with reports, interviews and specialized analysis, and a post-match exhibition to conclude. “
July 21, 2023 at 1:45 PM EDT
To mark Messi’s move to Miami, we created a special three-part audio series “The Making of Messi” that tells the story of how all roads ended up pointing to Florida.
In addition to his ups and downs on the field, we hint at his complex courtship with his country, Argentina, and the nuances of the exclusive deal that brought him to Miami, from stocks to blouse sales to Saudi Arabia.
It introduces James Horncastle to his lyricist, Michael Cox, with his unheard-of tactical acumen and the local expertise of Felipe Cardenas and Paul Tenorio as we get to the heart of what makes Messi paint on and off the field.
You can pay attention to “The Making of Messi” in its entirety on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you get your podcasts. Just look for that name or The Athletic’s documentary “Go Deeper. “
July 21, 2023 at 1:30 PM EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
Inter Milan owner Jorge Mas admitted Inter Miami could make a move for the former Barcelona star Luis Suarez, but said no positions have yet been taken.
Suarez’s existing agreement with Gremio runs through 2024.
“Luis Suarez is a Gemio player,” Mas said. “He has a contract. We perceive the close relationship he has with Lionel, Busquets and Alba. There has been a lot of communication about Luis Suarez’s arrival at Inter Miami. We have had direct conversations with Gremio or Suárez.
“I don’t know how Luis Suarez can get out of Gremio. But if he does, we are loose to communicate with Luis and bring him to Inter Miami. That option would be there.
July 21, 2023, 1:15 PM EDT
The way his first coach tells the story, the boy didn’t even intend to be on the field. It was his older brother’s game. They were missing a player. Salvador Aparicio looked into the stands and saw a small child playing alone, in personal communion with the ball. When he asked his mom if he could lend it to her, she told him she didn’t know how to play soccer.
The first time the game was presented to him, of course, the boy stood still and watched the ball go by. Moms are the most productive explorers. But at the moment of time — Aparicio recalled it several years later — the ball hit his left leg and anything happened. Imagine lightning gushing out of a tiny spine, so to speak. Regions of the brain twinkle like fireworks in the dark.
“He controlled the ball and went diagonally in the middle of the field, dribbling,” Aparicio said. “He haggled his way. “
There is a video of the trainer telling this story like an old man, waving his hand like a whipping fish in the water. Then he stops talking and winces that can only be described as a kind of shrug, as if even at the end of his life he still struggles to conform to the cosmic logic of what he must follow.
“I was yelling, ‘Shoot!’ Aparicio said. But he couldn’t do it. It was too small.
The greatest player who ever kicked a ball he was not in a position to do what he put on this Earth to do. The gift there before his left foot even there.
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Lionel Messi: The evolution of the greatest footballer of all time
July 21, 2023 at 1:00 PM EDT
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English soccer legend David Beckham was coy about Lionel Messi’s chances of appearing tonight when he asked earlier in the week about all things Inter Miami.
“We don’t know if Leo is going to play the match or if he will have minutes, because I think after all he has to be ready,” Beckham told ESPN Argentina.
“We have to take care of him and make sure he’s ready, because he went on vacation and just arrived in Miami. He’s trained and looks good. “
“I think Lio and Tata [Martino] will make a decision on when and if he plays on Friday, but the atmosphere here will be amazing and we can get the win. “
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July 21, 2023 at 12:45pm EDT
Forty-five years after Pelé’s debut at Randall’s Island, Lionel Messi’s arrival in MLS is heralded as a turning point in American football history. The Argentine has yet to play a game for Inter Miami, but reporters and league officials are already talking about Messi’s before and after delays and speculating about their possible effect on the trajectory of a game still struggling for mainstream relevance in the United States.
Some already say that the arrival of Messi is the biggest signing in the history of American football. There is only one other moment to compare it to: Pelé’s arrival at the NASL in 1975. If he were still around, the Brazilian, who died in December at the age of 82, might be offering Messi a small recommendation in terms of what to expect.
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When Pelé debuted in the NY Cosmos: the similarities and with Messi in Miami
July 21, 2023 at 12:30pm EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
Messi’s deal is priced at around $50 million to $60 million a year, which includes the price of his stake in Inter Miami, which will be ignited after his stint at the club.
In addition, Messi will get more benefits from MLS partners.
You’ll get a portion of the new MLS Season Pass subscriptions on Apple TV, such as paid deals with Adidas (which is your longtime sponsor and creator of uniforms for MLS and all 29 clubs) and Fanatics.
The Adidas and Apple portions of the deal are functionally separate from the base salary he will earn as an MLS player. The MLS Players Association will release the main points of all players’ salaries later this year, as it did a few months ago. Messi’s number will be eagerly awaited.
All parties see the deal as a blessing; Apple and MLS signed a 10-year, $25 billion deal this spring. Apple also has that a four-part documentary series chronicling Messi’s five World Cup appearances will be shown on Apple TV.
Meanwhile, Adidas has partnered with MLS since the league’s inception in 1996. The two sides renewed their partnership earlier this year, signing off on a six-year extension of $830 million by 2030. The German manufacturer manufactures kits for all 29 MLS teams and also designs the league’s official ball and is the official sponsor of the league’s shoes.
Messi himself has a long-standing relationship with Adidas, which began in 2006. In 2017, he signed a lifetime shoe sponsorship deal with the company.
July 21, 2023, 12:15 PM EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
Due to MLS’s unique entity structure, players sign contracts with the league, individual teams.
But unlike general MLS contracts, Messi’s has not been easy. For a legendary player and a signing who could replace the league, MLS and Inter Miami received an artistic refund to make sure he wasn’t lured to Saudi Arabia.
Messi’s deal includes an option to buy a stake in Inter Miami, and one component of the deal also sees discussions with Apple regarding revenue sharing of new MLS season pass subscriptions. A source briefed on the negotiations said Apple’s deal will be based on profits generated through new foreign subscribers.
There’s also the design of the payment itself, the tax implications of how the contract is drafted, as well as things like marketing and symbol rights. These negotiations take position on granular levels, such as which entities have the rights to Messi’s call and the number 10 for use in other products, for example.
July 21, 2023, 12:10 PM EDT
All Inter Miami matches will be available for international streaming (with some exceptions) through Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass subscription service. In the United States, some matches will also air on Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes and League Cup matches will be available on Univision/Unimas/TUDN.
For the first two games of the Inter Miami League Cup, the Season Pass will feature “enhanced production” that includes “18 cameras, Steadicam, 4 super slow motion cameras, Skycam, a drone, secondary reporters in Spanish and English, a one-hour pre-game exhibition with reports, interviews and specialized analysis, and a post-match exhibition to conclude. “
July 21, 2023, 12:08 PM EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
With Lionel Messi set to make his long-awaited debut for Inter Miami tomorrow, The Athletic has 20 questions for you about one of the greatest footballers of all time. . .
Go down.
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The Lionel Messi quiz: Do you know the new Inter Miami well?
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July 21, 2023, 12:06 PM EDT
To mark Messi’s move to Miami, we created a special three-part audio series “The Making of Messi” that tells the story of how all roads ended up pointing to Florida.
In addition to his ups and downs on the field, we hint at his complex courtship with his country, Argentina, and the nuances of the exclusive deal that brought him to Miami, from stocks to blouse sales to Saudi Arabia.
It introduces James Horncastle to his lyricist, Michael Cox, with his unheard-of tactical acumen and the local expertise of Felipe Cardenas and Paul Tenorio as we get to the heart of what makes Messi paint on and off the field.
You can pay attention to “The Making of Messi” in its entirety on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you get your podcasts. Just look for that name or The Athletic’s documentary “Go Deeper. “
July 21, 2023 at 12:04 PM EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
Messi’s debut was highly anticipated since he announced in early June that he had to sign for MLS after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, despite interest from Barcelona and Saudi side Al Hilal.
Ticket costs to watch Messi’s first match with Inter Miami have skyrocketed since the announcement of his transfer. The resale price of tickets for Wednesday’s match against Cruz Azul ranges from $200 to $5,000.
July 21, 2023 at 12:02 PM EDT
(Photo: Getty Images)
Hello and welcome to our Inter Miami vs. Inter Miami policy. Cruz Azul in today’s League Cup.
Lionel Messi will most likely make his Inter Miami debut from the bench tonight.
The 36-year-old was introduced through the MLS club last weekend and has been educated this week as he develops his fitness.
Sergio Busquets, who joined Miami earlier this week, is also expected to perform in the League Cup against Cruz Azul, however, Messi’s other former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba, who completed his own move on Thursday, will be worried after having a father this week.