Inter Miami midfielder Edison Azcona has opened up about how he and his teammates try to keep Lionel Messi from getting hurt during training, even going so far as to not allow him to play in matches amongst themselves.
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Messi just finished his first full season in Miami after signing there as a free agent in July. He scored 11 goals in 14 games for the club in the 2023 US season.
On Sunday night, Miami lost 1-0 to Charlotte FC, marking the end of the season for the David Beckham co-owned side. Lionel Messi started all 90 minutes of the match, but was unable to find the back of the net to help his team avoid a loss in the last game of the regular season.
As the MLS season draws to a close for Miami, the 19-year-old Aczona has opened up about what it’s like to share a locker room with Messi. Aczona and his Miami teammates have worked hard to keep Messi out of harm’s way during training.
“Everyone understands that we are not going to try to hurt him [Messi],” Azcona told Infobae.
“One tries to defend, but they are a little more careful. We don’t let him play in the games we play among ourselves, we defend him, but with caution. Nobody gets into it very hard,” he added.
Azcona dwelled on Messi as a human being too, claiming Messi is a ‘very good person.’
“Everyone gets along well with him. He is a very good person, humble. Sometimes we travel and there are people waiting outside at 5:00 am for Leo,” said the Inter Miami youngster.
“He sang at a dinner for us on the first trip he had with the team. DeAndre Yedlin and Victor Ulloa were the ones in charge of encouraging him. They were saying he had to sing. First, Jordi went to sing, Sergio also and Leo went last,” he added.
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