Lionel Messi is preparing for his full season in the MLS with Inter Miami. The World Cup winner shocked the world when he announced he would be joining the MLS club last July despite offers from his boyhood club, Barcelona, and a once-in-a-lifetime financial opportunity from Saudi Arabia, which he duly turned down.
Messi’s first season at Inter Miami didn’t go as planned due to injury problems, although he won the club their first trophy in franchise history. In preparation for his first full season, fans are lining up to pay £600 for tickets of Inter Miami vs Hong Kong Select XI despite no guarantees that Lionel Messi would feature in the game.
Inter Miami’s friendly match tickets selling at £600 despite no Lionel Messi guarantee
Inter Miami are preparing for the new season and will therefore be kickstarting their international pre-season tourn in 2024 against Hong Kong Select XI. The David Beckham-owned club will travel to the Far East, where they will face Hong Kong Select XI in their first pre-season game before heading to the Middle East later next month to play games against Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr. There we will see Lionel Messi come up against his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo, perhaps for the last time.
Before that, fans in the Far East were excited about the prospect of seeing Lionel Messi in action against Hong Kong Select XI, although Inter Miami haven’t provided any guarantees that the World Cup winner will be in action for the game.
The match, scheduled for February 4, where organisers have promised fans that they would get to see some ‘marque players’ in action while also explicitly stating that the game may not feature Lionel Messi.
Despite this, the game sold out in under one hour, with fans spending as much as £600 on tickets, while a resale site is now selling the tickets for about $1,500 per pair.
Lionel Messi to renew rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo haven’t played against each other since PSG faced the Saudi All-Stars in a friendly game last February. Fans have been longing for another game between these two stars ever since, and they will get their wish next month when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami travels to the Middle East to face Al-Nassr.
They will face each other on February 1, as Al-Nassr will host Inter Miami, with Ronaldo looking to get one over his eternal rival for the last time, perhaps.
Ronaldo and Messi both had a great year in 2023. While Messi claimed his eighth Ballon d’Or award, among other individual trophies, Cristiano Ronaldo became the top scorer in 2023 with 54 goals ahead of Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.
