Lionel Messi has confirmed reports that he will not be going on loan to an overseas club this winter and expressed his desire to spend the holidays at home with family.
The past year has been quite a whirlwind for Messi. He began the previous season with Paris Saint-Germain in August 2022, contributing to the club’s Ligue 1 title. After a two-month break, he made his debut in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States in August.
Since joining Miami, Messi has made five appearances in the MLS regular season, starting in three of them, and has recorded one goal and two assists. Across all competitions for the club, he has an impressive tally of 11 goals and eight assists in 13 games.
There were rumours circulating about Messi possibly making a move to the Saudi Pro League this winter or returning to his former club, FC Barcelona. However, at the moment, Messi’s focus is solely on Inter Miami‘s upcoming season finale against Charlotte FC.
“I will train, I will play our upcoming match and I will try to get here (to the national team) in the best possible way for November,” Messi had said after Argentina defeated Peru 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
“After that, I will enjoy the holidays in Argentina. It’s the first time that I am going to have more days off in December, with the holidays, with peace of mind, with my people.
“In January, I will return (to Miami) again to do pre-season, start from scratch and prepare as best as possible as always.”
In November, the reigning World Cup champions Argentina are set to play two crucial World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil. If Inter Miami had secured a spot in the playoffs, Messi might have faced the challenge of managing a tight schedule, especially if the club had progressed to the MLS Cup final.
The past year has been quite a whirlwind for Messi. He began the previous season with Paris Saint-Germain in August 2022, contributing to the club’s Ligue 1 title. After a two-month break, he made his debut in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States in August.
Since joining Miami, Messi has made five appearances in the MLS regular season, starting in three of them, and has recorded one goal and two assists. Across all competitions for the club, he has an impressive tally of 11 goals and eight assists in 13 games.
There were rumours circulating about Messi possibly making a move to the Saudi Pro League this winter or returning to his former club, FC Barcelona. However, at the moment, Messi’s focus is solely on Inter Miami‘s upcoming season finale against Charlotte FC.
“I will train, I will play our upcoming match and I will try to get here (to the national team) in the best possible way for November,” Messi had said after Argentina defeated Peru 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
“After that, I will enjoy the holidays in Argentina. It’s the first time that I am going to have more days off in December, with the holidays, with peace of mind, with my people.
“In January, I will return (to Miami) again to do pre-season, start from scratch and prepare as best as possible as always.”
In November, the reigning World Cup champions Argentina are set to play two crucial World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil. If Inter Miami had secured a spot in the playoffs, Messi might have faced the challenge of managing a tight schedule, especially if the club had progressed to the MLS Cup final.
(AI image)
“It’s a shame,” Messi said about Inter Miami’s failure to reach the playoffs.
“We came very close. I missed the last few games. We had several injuries. The month of July was very hard for us. We played every three days, we traveled. But we won a tournament, which is important for the club and for what is coming next year.”
(With Reuters inputs)
