Lionel Messi's Inter Miami to play pre-season friendly in Japan against former Manchester United star Juan Mata's J-League team
Lionel Messi's Inter Miami have added a pre-season stop in Japan for a clash with former Manchester United attacker Juan Mata's Vissel Kobe. The game will also see Messi reunite with his former Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta.
The Herons will commence first international pre-season trip in El Salvador (January 19) before they fly to Saudi Arabia. There, Messi and Co. will clash with Al-Hilal (January 29) and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr (February 1).
Tata Martino's side next travel to Hong Kong for a clash with the Hong Kong Team, a collection of Hong Kong's top league players, before arriving in Japan to take on Vissel.
“Tokyo is an inspiring destination with a fervent futbol community that we’re looking forward to getting acquainted with. We’re thrilled to visit Japan as one of our stops as we continue to bring joy to our global fanbase,” said Miami's chief business officer Xavier Asensi (as per club website).
“Our aspiration remains to make our fans’ dreams come true, and we believe this match will be a fantastic occasion for them to look forward to and a wonderful moment for our players.”
Pre-season training commences for the David Beckham co-owned side in January, a month before the start of the new MLS regular season.
How has Inter Miami's Lionel Messi fared against Manchester United?
Inter Miami attacker Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the game's best players. During his illustrious career spanning nearly two decades, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has scored over 800 goals for club and country.
Four of those goals have come against Premier League giants Manchester United in six games, all in the UEFA Champions League for Barcelona. Two of them came in the finals in 2009 and 2011, including one where Messi scored a rare header past the much taller United defender Rio Ferdinand.
Messi's two others goals against Manchester United came in his last meeting with them, a 3-0 quarterfinal second-leg win in the 2018-19 edition. Not surprisingly, Messi won four of his six games with the Premier League giants, losing only one.