Lionel Messi confirms he will not leave Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami on winter loan
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Lionel Messi in action for Argentina against Peru in their World Cup qualifier.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MIAMI – Expressing a desire to spend the holidays at home with his family, Inter Miami star Lionel Messi confirmed earlier reports that he will not go out on loan this winter to an overseas club.
It has been a whirlwind calendar year for the Argentinian forward, who started last season at Paris Saint-Germain and helped the club claim a Ligue 1 title, before taking two months off and then arriving in the United States for his Major League Soccer (MLS) debut in August.
The 36-year-old has one goal and two assists in five MLS regular-season matches (three starts) since joining Miami. In 13 games across all competitions for the club, he has 11 goals and eight assists.
Reported rumours had Messi possibly headed to the Saudi Pro League this winter or a potential return to Barcelona, where he played for 17 years.
Now, the only club match he has on his mind in the foreseeable future is Miami’s season finale on Saturday against Charlotte FC.
“I will train, I will play our upcoming match and I will try to get here (to the national team) in the best possible way for November,” Messi said, after his two goals helped Argentina defeat Peru 2-0 in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
“After that, I will enjoy the holidays in Argentina. It’s the first time that I am going to have more days off in December, with the holidays, with peace of mind, with my people.
“In January, I will return (to Miami) again to do pre-season, start from scratch and prepare as best as possible.”
In November, World Cup champions Argentina have a pair of qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil.
Had Miami made the play-offs, Messi could have been faced with continued tight scheduling if the club had been able to make a run to the MLS Cup final.
“It’s a shame,” Messi said about Miami not making the play-offs despite his best effort.
“We came very close. I missed the last few games. We had several injuries. The month of July was very hard for us. But we won a tournament (Leagues Cup), which is important for what is coming next year.”
On his national side, he added that they are “very close” to the level of the Pep Guardiola-coached Barcelona side that he played for. That Barcelona team won 14 trophies, including two Champions League titles.
“This team (which won the World Cup in Qatar) is impressive. It continues to grow game after game,” he said. “To compare it to that Barca is too much. But this team is very close to it.” REUTERS
