Inter Miami drew 3-3 with St. Louis City on Saturday night, marking Lionel Messi’s last game with his club at least through the remainder of the month. Messi will join Argentina’s Copa America pre-tournament camp on Sunday as the world champions prepare to defend the continental trophy they won in 2021.
Former FC Barcelona teammates Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba scored Inter Miami’s goals against St. Louis. Alba’s two assists went to Suarez and Messi, who each now have 12 goals — four behind MLS leader Cristian Arango of Real Salt Lake. Messi leads MLS in assists with 13.
Vintage Leo 🐐
Messi to Jordi Alba back to Messi for his 12th goal of the season! pic.twitter.com/2ZbHNTJtf3
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 2, 2024
Inter Miami, which currently has the best record in MLS, must now plan for a significant spell without Messi and other important starters. In addition to Messi, Suarez and Matias Rojas are expected to make the final Copa America squads for Uruguay and Paraguay, respectively. U.S. international Benjamin Cremaschi was named in the June Olympic camp squad, and Diego Gomez, a Paraguayan international, is also likely to participate in the Paris games.
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There is one FIFA international window (June 9 and June 14) before the Copa America begins on June 20th. Messi will stay in Fort Lauderdale and train at Inter Miami’s facility with the Argentina national team before friendlies against Ecuador in Chicago and Guatemala in Landover, Maryland.
If Argentina reaches the Copa America final, Messi would not return until after July 14. He could miss at least six league matches. Inter Miami has MLS matches on July 17 (versus Toronto) and July 20 (versus Chicago) before their first Leagues Cup match on July 27 (versus Puebla). Inter Miami is the tournament’s defending champion.
Inter Miami's upcoming matches
| Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
6/15 | @ Philadelphia Union |
6/19 | vs. Columbus Crew |
6/29 | @ Nashville SC |
7/3 | @ Charlotte FC |
7/6 | @ FC Cincinnati |
7/17 | vs. Toronto FC |
7/20 | vs. Chicago Fire |
7/27 | vs. Puebla (Leagues Cup) |
Players who return from an international tournament typically undergo a period of rest and recovery, which could prolong Messi’s absence even further. Inter Miami manager Tata Martino has not shied away from resting Messi, Suarez, and Sergio Busquets, something that will continue through the summer as Miami hopes to make a deep playoff run in the fall. Messi has had some minor injuries that have forced him to miss six games so far in 2024.
“I’ll insist on something in relation to Leo, Jordi, Sergio and Luis,” Martino said on Saturday night. “They are who they are. (The press) has paid a lot of attention to them since their arrival. It’s logical that we’d expect them to have a massive impact on our team. We can talk about Jordi’s performance tonight, two assists and one goal. Again, it’s one thing for other teams to cope without their best players and it’s another for us to cope without our best players.”
To date, Inter Miami has played 14 matches without Messi since the Argentina captain signed with the MLS club in 2023, winning just three of those games. Inter Miami has added depth to its squad, but any team with Messi in the lineup will rely heavily on the Argentine star.
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Messi is currently the favorite to win the MLS MVP award this season. He is also in the thick of the Golden Boot race, battling Arango, DC United’s Christian Benteke and LAFC’s Denis Bouanga for that award. That trio will remain active in MLS while Messi is away with Argentina. Arango scored his 14th, 15th and 16th goals on Saturday while Benteke has 13 goals on the year.
Messi is one of one. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/Uyy0M26tkW
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 2, 2024
A deep run for Argentina at the Copa America could impact Messi’s place in the Golden Boot competition, but a prolonged spell away from his club shouldn’t dent his chances of winning the MVP award. It’s going to take an extraordinary season to unseat Messi as the favorite there.
Inter Miami must now earn results without Messi and several other of their most influential players. The club’s depth has been tested before. Players like Julian Gressel, Robert Taylor, Leonardo Campana will have to carry Inter Miami’s attack, while Busquets and Alba will be relied upon to lead the team in Messi’s absence.
In a tight Eastern Conference, Inter Miami will have little margin for error, as defending Supporters Shield winners FC Cincinnati trail Martino’s side by just one point with two games in hand.
(Photo: CHRIS ARJOON/AFP via Getty Images)
Felipe Cardenas is a staff writer for The Athletic who covers MLS and international soccer. Follow Felipe on Twitter @FelipeCar
