Inter Miami Turns Heads With Announcement Before Club World Cup originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
On Wednesday, Inter Miami CF and all 31 other teams participating in the FIFA Club World Cup revealed their official squads for the new-look tournament.
To the surprise of no one, IMCF captain Lionel Messi headlined the Herons’ squad list. He is joined by the rest of the team’s former FC Barcelona quartet: forward Luis Suarez, midfielder Sergio Busquets and defender Jordi Alba.
Inter Miami’s first match is on Saturday against Egyptian club Al Ahly, but there are serious concerns about ticket sales and fan safety for the opening match at Hard Rock Stadium.
Fans of the club were also concerned by the look of the squad list. It did not look very different from the team that is currently sixth overall in the MLS standings, with two wins in its last six matches.
There was a special transfer window put into place by FIFA from June 1-June 10 to allow clubs competing in the Club World Cup to make signings to bolster their squads.
The tournament begins mere weeks after the conclusion of the 2024-2025 season for teams like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
Despite the strain on the players (including Messi, 37, who returned from international duty with Argentina on Tuesday night to train in Miami on Wednesday ahead of the opening match), Inter Miami did not make any signings. For comparison, Manchester City made four.
“Great use of the signing window,” complained a fan under IMCF’s roster announcement.
“Not a single signing. Absolutely embarrassing,” echoed another.
— Adam Litvack (@itsthe90sagain) June 11, 2025
“How do you not make a single move?” asked one response.
“You guys didn’t even sign any players,” wrote a user. “Humiliation ritual for Messi.”
Inter Miami is in Group A, which includes Al Ahly, Portuguese club FC Porto and Brazilian giants Palmeiras.
If Messi and the Herons advance past the group stage, potential knockout round matches set for June 28-July 13 would create fixture congestion for their already thin squad, which has four MLS contests scheduled in the same period.
Related: Lionel Messi’s Interaction With Former Real Madrid Star Turns Heads
Related: Lionel Messi Issues Demand To MLS After Inter Miami Loss
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
