Is Lionel Messi playing for Inter Miami against Al-Hilal tonight?
Lionel Messi is expected to play when Inter Miami face Saudi Arabian giants Al-Hilal in the Riyadh Cup on Monday, January 29. This will be the Herons' third pre-season friendly game ahead of the 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) season in the United States.
Inter Miami have not had the best of the starts to their pre-season campaign. Gerardo Martino's side have drawn and lost once so far and are yet to score a goal. They suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of fellow MLS side FC Dallas last time around.
Pre-season games, however, are primarily played to build match fitness, something Lionel Messi is slowly achieving. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner played an hour against FC Dallas and is now expected to start against Al-Hilal on Monday.
Messi has been reunited with his former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez and the pair have started up front for the last two friendly games. The two superstar forwards should continue to lead Inter Miami's attack against Al-Hilal as well.
Inter Miami are traveling to their Asian leg of friendly matches with four attackers in their squad. Shanyder Borgelin and Leonardo Campana are the two other forwards who can replace Messi and Suarez as they are scheduled to play five more pre-season games.
It is worth mentioning that Messi, Suarez and Neymar formed a formidable strike partnership at Barcelona. The trio notably guided the Catalan giants to a treble in 2015.
Al-Hilal star Neymar, however, will not be able to face his former teammates which include Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba as well. The Brazil forward has still not recovered from a knee injury he picked up last October.
What are Lionel Messi's numbers for Inter Miami ahead of his first full season?
Lionel Messi arrived in Florida on a free transfer back in the summer of 2023 at the end of his two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The Argentina forward will start his first full season for his new side next month.
Messi played just 14 times towards the latter stages of the 2023 season but still had a huge impact on the team. The former Barcelona star contributed 11 goals and five assists in all competitions.
This included a tally of 10 goals and an assist in the 2023 Leagues Cup which Gerardo Martino's side went on to win. It is the club's first major piece of silverware in their young history.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will be competing in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup as a result of winning the Leagues Cup.