After winning the Ballon d’Or in 2023, former Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is apparently looking to sign some known faces for Inter Miami. He already has two former teammates in Miami in the form of Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. According to reports, Luis Suarez will be joining the team in the next season, but it will take even more to get Lionel Messi to be happy. Messi has reportedly already requested the addition of the fifth member of the former Barcelona gang.
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According to a report by El Gol Digital, Lionel Messi has asked David Beckham to facilitate the signing of Ivan Rakitic, and it looks like Inter Miami won’t need to pay for him either, as all reports say he won’t renew his Sevilla contract. According to the same media outlet, Inter Miami want to reduce his salary by 85 percent of what he currently earns.
There’s a lot of talk about the relationship they had in Barcelona, given the pressures they both faced in their national teams. Rakitic opened up about the topic in a recent interview with El Desmarque.
“Messi and Suarez have been my teammates for six years, and very important people. I respect them, although they are not my best friends,” he had said.
The Messi-Rakitic pair won several trophies together under Luis Enrique at Barcelona, with Barca fans particularly fond of their 2015 Champions League-winning treble-winning partnership. It was also the same year they won the Copa Del Rey and La Liga titles.
It will interesting to see if Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham indeed pays heed to Lionel Messi’s advice and goes to sign former Barcelona player Rakitic. However, Barca fans are already excited by the prospect of Alba, Busquets, Messi, Suarez and Rakitic playing together in the Inter Miami colours.