Lionel Messi made his MLS debut for Inter Miami on Saturday evening. The Argentine made his debut off the bench and even scored the second goal of the team. This brought Miami’s winning streak to 9 games. However, Messi could still receive some punishment for breaching MLS rules. Messi refused to appear in front of the media following the match even though MLS rules make it mandatory to do so. A final decision is yet to be made on Messi’s punishment.
Lionel Messi already played 8 matches for Inter Miami. However, his first match for Miami was their first Leagues Cup match. He appeared in all of their 7 Leagues Cup matches and led them to wins as captains. Messi helped them win their first-ever trophy by winning them the Leagues Cup trophy. Messi then appeared for his 8th match for Inter Miami against Cincinnati in the US Open semi-final match. Miami won that match as well and progressed to the final.
Messi’s Major League Soccer debut came after 9 straight wins on Saturday evening. He came off the bench for Miami in the 60th minute and scored the second goal for the team in the 89th minute. Miami improved immensely after Messi joined the team and it showed in their last match. Before Messi came on for Miami, they were already leading by a goal against the 11th-placed NY Red Bulls. However, Messi’s goal in the dying moments of the game definitely sealed the deal.
Before Messi joined the MLS club, they were on a 6-match streak without a win. However, since he joined, they are yet to lose a match. Their match against NY Red Bulls, proved that he not only improved their chances of winning, but he also helped all players of the team improve exponentially. It is quite clear and that obviously attracts media to get more exclusives from him.
However, Messi might get punished due to that. MLS rules say that the clubs need to make their players available for interviews following any and all MLS matches. MLS communication department’s division execution vice president, Dan Courtemanche told so before Miami’s game against NY Red Bulls started. However, Messi did not have the press. Molly Dreska, Miami’s spokeswoman informed that he would not be appearing in front of the media. It resulted in MLS rules violations and that could lead to a punishment for Messi.
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