The preview of Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup debut against Atlas has been marked by MLS’ sanction of Lionel Messi for not having participated in the All-Star Game, a match that brings together the best players from MLS and Liga MX, but which the Argentine player did not attend and was therefore suspended for one match in the US soccer league.
Both Messi and Jordi Alba were absent from this important match, especially for the organizers of the event, and for this reason, they earned a suspension that left them without playing and that generated some annoyance in their coach, Javier Mascherano, who before the match against Atlas, spoke about the issue in a press conference.
Javier Mascherano’s defense
The Argentine coach of Inter Miami was asked about the availability of Lionel Messi for today’s match and responded with a little irony. “If there is no other suspension for Messi, he will be available. We see him super motivated, we did not expect his suspension, but he was able to rest after several games and will be fresher,” he said.
All the controversy comes along with a month where Inter Miami had a very heavy load of matches, as after the Club World Cup they had to continue playing and in one month, they played six games, something that meant that both Alba and Messi had to take a break, as they were not in their physical prime.
Messi’s new ally
Despite the controversy surrounding Messi’s absence from the All-Star Game, not everything has been bad news for the player and Inter Miami, as a few days ago the arrival of Rodrigo De Paul was confirmed. The player has a great friendship with Messi and together they have achieved many successes with the Argentine national team.
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With the suspension already served and his coach’s defense, Messi is already thinking about the team’s debut in the Leagues Cup and the annoyance over the sanction will serve as motivation to return to the field and hope that, together with the arrival of De Paul, they can give more joy to Inter Miami fans.
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