Javier Mascherano broke his silence after the sanction that left Lionel Messi out of Inter Miami’s last game for not having attended the MLS All-Star Game. The Florida team’s coach showed his indignation at what he considers unfair treatment of his captain.
“What if today’s game was away? Would they have also asked Leo not to play? Because to fill stadiums and make box office there nobody complains, eh. What happens is that this game was at home. That’s the issue,” he said harshly in the post-match press conference.
Mascherano acknowledged that they accept the rules, but does not share the decision made by the league: “I have an opinion of what happened, I commented on it yesterday. I did not come here to criticize MLS or to change the rules. We adapt to what happened, but I do not share the decision at all,” he stressed. “The team has played a great game, but the absence of Leo was felt,” he added.
The Argentine coach also took the opportunity to praise the signing of Rodrigo De Paul, who was recently unveiled as a new Inter Miami player: “Rodrigo’s signing is historic. For a World Cup winner to come here, at 31 years of age and in his prime, speaks of the ambition of this club. To want to continue growing, to continue to enhance this league, although many times it receives mistreatment or disrespect.”
With these statements, Mascherano made it clear that he will defend his group on and off the field, and that the arrival of players such as De Paul marks the ambitious path of an Inter Miami side determined to fight for everything.
Read the full article here
