OMG – so much news so little time. So word is Lionel Messi is signing with MLS’ Inter-Miami set to join David Beckham’s team sometime this summer. What will this do for MLS? Lets just say I am scrambling to get tix now! The Best player in the World over the past decade – fresh of a World Cup win for Argentina – this raises MLS both in the US and around the World. Wow ! Wow ! Wow !
Champions League Final Sat 3 pm on CBS – Man City vs Inter Milan
CARMEL FC COACHES AND FRIENDS – Anyone want to gather to watch? 2:45 pm Game starts at 3 pm.
CBS is going all out with wall to wall coverage live from Instanbal, Turkey– The pregame starts at 1:30 pm with the best in the business Kate Abdo on site on the field with Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, and Micah Richards, Peter Schmeichel, Jenny Chui. Burna and Anitta will headline the pregame concert and my favorite Anthem in all of sports We Are the Champions will get things started at about 2:45 pm. Over 400 million (4 times the Superbowl) will be watching Worldwide – a # only matched by the World Cup and the Olympics. So tune in and enjoy!! Here’s the outtro from last season’s Final-the most watched European game to be seen in the US ever. Of course Man City will be the big favorite and is looking to become just the 2nd English team ever to Win the Treble – The League, the FA Cup (3-1 over Man United) and the European Title. Man United last did in back in the 1990s with David Beckham. I was fortunate to attend my first ever Champions League match this year when I traveled to England Carmel FC – and I saw Man City and Erland Haaland pound Bayern Munich at the Ettihad 3-0. It was an amazing atmosphere and the City Stadium I will admit was magnificent. Man City is looking to win their first ever Champions League trophy – and I think they will bring it home over Inter 2-1 in a hard fought match over Inter Milan. Its still must watch TV on Saturday – plan to tune in! (Tons of Stories Below)
Notes
Huge news that Zlatan is retiring after his injury plagued season. As obnoxious as he was – he was always one of my favorites – his interviews especially in the US were hilarious and he always backed up his claims with some outrageous goals some of his great quotes. Congrats to England’s West Ham United who won the Europa Conference league 2-1 over Fiorentina on Wednesday Link – Bittersweet for West Ham as star midfielder Declan Rice is probably headed to Arsenal next year. The US Boys U20 were dumped from the U20 World Cup 2-0 to Uraguay joining Brazil, Argentina and Japan as surprise losers. Italy faces Korea Thurs eve at 5 pm on FS2 before the Finals on Sat at 5 pm again on Fox Sports 2. LAFC failed in their attempt to become the 2nd straight MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League Sun night as they lost to Leon 1-0 falling 3-1 on aggregate. My Seattle Sounders are still the only MLS team to win the competition over Mexico’s Liga MX. Inter Milan’s Romeo Lukaku with a cool interview talking about his rise to Champions League star.
ALEX MORGAN PLAYS @ LOUISVILLE – Fri 8 pm
Louisville will Host Alex Morgan of the NWSL’s #2 Ranked San Diego Wave at home at Linder Stadium this Friday night at 8 pm and tickets are still available less that $12 each. Wave players joining Alex from the US Women’s National Team are midfielder Taylor Kornieck and defenders Naomi Girma, and Abby Dahlkemper. The game will also be on Paramount + and Sirius FM at 8 pm Friday.
MESSI to MLS – Inter Miami
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Lionel Messi spurns Barcelona and Saudi Arabia to join Inter Miami in MLS
Lionel Messi will reportedly sign with Inter Miami, turning down a $1 billion-plus offer from Al-Hilal in the process
Reports: Lionel Messi chooses Inter Miami, MLS over Barca and Saudi Arabia
If Lionel Messi joins MLS, ‘Circle it on the calendar,’ Crew’s Sean Zawadzki says
Could Lionel Messi become the latest world soccer star to play in Jacksonville? Here’s how
Champions League Final Saturday 3 pm on CBS
UEFA Champions League Final: Key battles for Inter Milan vs Manchester City
Pep Guardiola: I got the game plan wrong in the 2021 final
Guardiola warns Man City against Champions League final arrogance
Football’s future? Man City eye first Champions League win for state-backed club
Inter bidding for Champions League glory but off-field problems persist
Man City takes FA Cup, a win from rare treble
How many times has a team won the treble? Man City goes for history
Man City takes FA Cup, a win from rare treble
Erling Haaland’s Man City goals and the records broken
Want to Tryout for Carmel FC? Click here for info https://www.facebook.com/carmelfchq https://twitter.com/CarmelFCHQ
2023 Alumni Summer Soccer
Location: Shelbourne Fields – CCCSC – 3451 W. 126th St., Carmel (Ages: 18 – 35) $105 Sign Up
Grab your friends and make your own team or sign up and we’ll place you on a team, you don’t have to live in Carmel. Games will take place on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Dates: June 18, 21, 25, 28 & July 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26 Sign Up
GAMES ON TV
Wed, June 7
3 pm Para+ West Ham vs Fiorentina Europa Conf Final
8 pm Gozalo Para+ Birmingham Legion vs Inter Miami US Open Cup
9:30 pm Para+ Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy US Open Cup
10:30 pm Apple LAFC vs Atlanta Unted
Wed, June 8
1:30 pm FS2 Uraguay vs Isreal U20WC
5 pm pm FS2 Italy vs Korea
Fri, June 9
7 pm Grand park Indy 11 Women vs Lex
Sat, June 10
3 pm CBS Champions League Final Man City vs Inter Milan
5 pm FS2 U20 WC Finals
7 pm TV8 Indy 11 vs Hartford
Mon, June 12
12 noon FS2 Germany vs Ukraine
Wed, June 14
12 noon FS1 Netherlands vs Croatia
7:30 pm Para+ Washington Spirit vs NC Courage (Fox, Murphy) NWSL
8 pm Para+ Racing Louisville vs Houston Dash NSWL
8 pm Pata+ KC Current (Franch) vs Chicago Red Stars NWSL
10:30 pm Apple LA Galaxy vs Houston
Thurs, June 15
2:30 pm FS1 Spain vs Italy Nations League
7 pm CBSSN TUDN Panama vs Canada
10 pm Para+, USMNT vs Mexico Nations League Semi’s
Fri, June 16
2:45 pm FS1 Malta vs England Euro Quals
2:45 pm FS 2 Poland vs Germany
Sat, June 17
9 am FS1 Lithuania vs Bulgaria Euro Quals
12 pm FS1 Norway vs Scottland Euro Quals
2:45 pm FS 2 Iceland vs Slovakia Euro Quals
4 pm CBS San Diego (Morgan, Girma, Korniack) vs Angel City (Ertz, Thompson)
7 pm Para+ NC Courage (Fox, Murphy) vs Orlando Pride (Marta) NWSL
7:30 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 @ Birmingham City
8:30 pm Apple Nashville vs St Louis City
10:30 pm Apple San Jose vs Portland Timbers
Sun, June 18
9 am FS1 Nations League 3rd place
2:45 pm ?? Nations League Final ?
4 pm CBS Racing Louisville vs NY Gothem (Williams, Ohara, Mewis) NWSL
6 pm Para+ Chicago Red Stars vs Portland Thorns NWSL
6 pm Para+, TUDN CONCACAF Nations League 3rd Place
9 pm Para+, TUDN CONCACAF Nations League Final ? Canada vs US/Mex
Sat, June 24
9:30 pm USMNT vs Jamaica (Soldier Field) Gold Cup
Wed, June 28
9:30 pm USMNT vs ?? St Louis Gold Cup
Sun, July 9
4 pm Fox? USWNT vs Wales Send-off
5/7 pm Fox Sports? USMNT Gold Cup Quarter Finals ? in Cincy (tix avail)
Fri, July 21 USWNT vs Vietnam Women’s World Cup
Soccer Saturday’s are every Sat 9-10 am on 93.5 and 107.5 FM with Greg Rakestraw
US Men
MLS
A look at Zlatan Ibrahimović’s MLS career, pop culture influence as legend retires
LAFC’s Champions League final letdown leads to excuses and proof of Liga MX’s CONCACAF supremacy León vexes LAFC and takes CONCACAF Champions League title to Mexico
León beat LAFC to continue Mexican dominance of Concacaf Champions League
LAFC loses to León in CCL final
Late Lucho Acosta goal gives FC Cincinnati its 12th win | Replay
FA CUP
FA Cup final defeat clouds Manchester United’s season
Man Utd ‘broken’ after FA Cup final defeat, says Ten Hag
Ilkay Gundogan is Manchester City’s Zinedine Zidane — the ultimate big-game player
FA Cup final player ratings: John Stones dishes up masterclass as Jadon Sancho goes missing
Pep Guardiola after FA Cup win: Man City ‘can now talk about the treble
David De Gea has cost Man Utd and the club must move on
Manchester City beat Man United in FA Cup, one win from treble
Jadon Sancho shows why he is on borrowed time at Manchester United
English football rolled the dice one last time but could not stop Man City
Man City’s Gundogan scores fastest-ever FA Cup final goal
Man City’s Gundogan scores inside 13 seconds for quickest goal in an FA Cup final
WORLD
Europe’s top soccer leagues: What was decided this weekend? Dale Johnson
Messi’s final game for PSG ends in defeat
‘Time to say goodbye’: Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces retirement from soccer at 41
‘I’ll see you around if you are lucky’
Ageing hero Ibrahimovic to leave Milan at season’s end
Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title
Julian Nagelsmann wants Thierry Henry to join him at PSG
Title changes hands 3 times in 5 minutes: You won’t find a wilder end to a season than in Belgium Chris Wright
English teenager Jude Bellingham to join Real Madrid from Dortmund
US Ladies/World Cup/NWSL
Motherhood has given Julie Ertz a new appreciation for soccer and her career
The Teen Invasion of Women’s Pro Soccer Is Under Way
Boise native Sofia Huerta is on the World Cup roster bubble. She’s used to being there
Ali Riley Excited to Captain New Zealand at World Cup
Q&A: How Ashley Hatch prioritizes faith while chasing World Cup dreams
Racing Louisville FC, led by former NC Courage stars, pushing for first NWSL playoff berth
There could soon be a second pro women’s soccer league. Could that hurt the NWSL?
Barca win Champions League with stunning Wolfsburg comeback 3-2
Barcelona banishes past disappointments with dramatic Women’s Champions League victory
Barcelona wins Women’s Champions League with stunning comeback
My suffering worth it for Champions League win: Barca’s Putellas
With storming Champions League final comeback, Barcelona women cement themselves as the queens of soccer
Goalkeeping
US GK Casey Murphy Great Save in NWSL
Former Indy 11 GK Jordan Farr of San Antonio Great Save
Reffing
Man it was a beautiful night of reffing at Trinity Park last Sat night under the lights with the Moon in the background with Justin B and Carl B from Fishers.
Carmel Dad’s Indy 11 Soccer Camp 6/12-6/15 Registration
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Lionel Messi to join MLS side Inter Miami after PSG exit despite Barcelona, Saudi Arabia interest
By The Athletic Staff 42m ago 31
Lionel Messi has confirmed he is joining MLS side Inter Miami.
Messi revealed news of his move to the United States in an interview with Barcelona-based publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
He said: “I’ve made the decision that I’m going to Miami. It’s still not a done deal 100 per cent. I’m missing a few things but we’ve decided to keep going down the path.
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“If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, leave the spotlight and focus more on my family.
“I had a lot of hope that I’d be able to come back (to Barcelona), but after living what I lived through and the exit that I had (from Barcelona), I didn’t want to come back to be in the same situation: to wait and see what was going to happen or leave my future in the hands of another person.”
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that MLS and Inter Miami were solidifying details around the potential signing of the 35-year-old.
Messi left Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season after his two-year contract with the Ligue 1 side expired. The World Cup winner, as reported earlier this week, had wanted his future to be resolved in the coming days.
Barcelona, whom Messi left to join PSG in the summer of 2021, had repeatedly expressed interest in re-signing the Argentina star.
The Catalan club also received approval from La Liga for their financial viability plan on Tuesday, allowing them to register new contracts and sign players, but significant financial hurdles remained at the Camp Nou as far as a Messi return was concerned.
Lionel Messi won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar. Photo: Getty Images
Messi had also received a proposal from Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, which had been on the table for several months and could have seen the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner command around €400 million a year.
The Gulf state announced huge reforms to its domestic league on Monday, prompting a fresh drive to lure high-profile names. Cristiano Ronaldo, once Messi’s great rival at Real Madrid, joined Al Nassr in January and Karim Benzema has just signed for Al Ittihad.
But The Athletic reported back in October that Inter Miami were increasingly confident in a pursuit that has spanned several years.
Messi would arguably be the most high-profile acquisition in the history of MLS and represent a huge coup as the United States gears up to jointly host the 2026 World Cup.
When will Messi move to Miami?
Analysis by Paul Tenorio, Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer
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The question of when Messi makes his debut remains very much up in the air. The secondary transfer window for MLS opens up on July 5, which means that is the first day Messi would be available.
Miami has away games on July 8 and July 15 before playing at home on July 21 and July 25 in the Leagues Cup, MLS’s new venture with Liga MX.
Should Miami advance out of that group stage, they would have more Leagues Cup games. Their next MLS home game is not until August 20, at home against Charlotte FC.
They then play on the road at New York Red Bulls before welcoming Nashville SC to Ft. Lauderdale on August 30.
One source briefed on league discussions floated that the Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul on July 21 could see Messi make his debut. Tickets for that game have since sold out.
Other sources have suggested Messi would wait to debut in regular-season MLS play, which would keep him off the field until late August.
The decision undoubtedly will have a huge impact on fans who already started snatching up tickets for the games beginning with that July 8 road match in D.C.
How are MLS and Inter Miami enticing Messi?
MLS’s offer to Messi involves contributions from the league’s two biggest commercial partners.
Multiple sources involved in or briefed on the high-level league discussions said earlier this week that MLS and Apple have discussed offering Messi a share of the revenue generated by new subscribers to MLS Season Pass, the league’s streaming package on Apple TV+. Both sides view Messi’s potential involvement in Major League Soccer as a boon; Apple and MLS signed a 10-year, $2.5billion agreement this spring. On Tuesday, Apple revealed that a four-part docuseries chronicling Messi’s five World Cup appearances would stream on Apple TV+.
AppleTV’s verified Twitter account tweeted the word ‘Miami’ on Wednesday, before the tweet was deleted.
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Adidas, which is among MLS’ largest corporate sponsors, has prepared its own potential arrangement to entice Messi to the United States, multiple sources briefed on those plans told The Athletic on Tuesday. Messi is being offered a profit-sharing agreement with the sportswear giant, those sources said, which would involve the player receiving a cut of any increase in Adidas’ profits resulting from his involvement in MLS.
Adidas has partnered with MLS since the league’s inception in 1996. The two sides renewed their partnership earlier this year, signing a six-year, $830million extension that runs through 2030. The German manufacturer supplies kits to all 29 MLS teams and also designs the league’s official match ball and is the league’s official footwear sponsor.
Messi himself has a long-standing relationship with Adidas, which started in 2006. In 2017, he signed a lifetime footwear sponsorship deal with the company.
Inter Miami — the lowdown
Inter Miami were established in 2018 and have been contesting MLS matches since 2020.
They are owned by brothers Jorge and Jose Mas alongside former England captain David Beckham, who played MLS football with LA Galaxy between 2007 and 2012 after more than a decade at Manchester United and four years at Real Madrid.
Inter Miami currently play at the 18,000-seater DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, but permission has been granted for construction to begin on Miami Freedom Park, a $1billion (£860m) stadium complex that will give Inter Miami a spectacular home.
The club endured a tumultuous period post-launch as they entered MLS during the COVID-19 pandemic and were later punished for breaking budget rules.
Their challenging spell has continued this term, with the franchise bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and currently seeking a new manager after sacking Phil Neville.
Messi to Inter Miami hot takes: What move to MLS means for the player, Barcelona and fans
- ESPN Jun 7, 2023, 02:43 PM ET
Lionel Messi, possibly the greatest soccer player of all time, is taking his talents to South Beach. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar announced on Wednesday that he is heading to MLS with Inter Miami CF as a free agent this summer.
The prospect of a player who led Argentina to the World Cup less than six months ago playing his club football in the United States has sent shock waves through the sport.
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What led Messi, the seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, to make the move stateside? What impact does such a stellar signing have on MLS and soccer in the U.S.? How does the disappointment of Messi not returning to Barcelona affect the club for whom he won 35 major trophies and whom he left as their record goal scorer? And will the forward’s fans, who regard him as the GOAT, follow him on his new journey?
The big picture: Messi opts to conquer new ground than revisit his past
And so, he has decided. Major League Soccer has won the Lionel Messi Final Four bracket, defeating Saudi competition in the final after both advanced past romantic long shots: the financially hamstrung Barcelona, where he spent 21 years, and Newell’s Old Boys, the hometown team he supported as a boy.Messi’s contract with PSG expires at the end of this month, but really, more than a free agent signing, this move is more like a corporate joint venture between Inter Miami, MLS, the league’s broadcast rights holders (Apple), Adidas and the Lionel Andres Messi Corporation. We’ve been here before in 2007, when David Beckham — who, as if to prove the circularity of human existence, is a part-owner of Inter Miami) joined the LA Galaxy. And frankly, it would have been pretty much the same thing if he had opted for the Saudi Pro League, except there it would mostly be one source footing the bill: the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
(Indeed, in what to some may appear as a classic cart-before-the-horse move, Messi signed a reported $400 million contract with the Saudi tourism board … assuming he guaranteed them exclusivity, don’t expect him to be shilling for the delights of South Beach any time soon.)
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Commercially, Messi will bring eyeballs to U.S. domestic soccer like nobody before him. More than Beckham, more than Zlatan Ibrahimovic — and for old-timers, more than Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer and Pele, if only because we live in a far more connected world today. Messi is not a natural pitchman, lacking both Ibrahimovic’s quotability and Beckham’s charisma, but hey: he’s Messi. He delivered the World Cup for Argentina less than six months ago, he has seven Ballons d’Or at home (winning the last of those 18 months ago) and he has scored more than 800 goals for club and country in his career.
He’s not the first legit GOAT candidate to play in North America because Pele was there in the 1970s, but the key difference is that half a century later, Messi will land in a very different country — one that is more diverse and more soccer-savvy, and one where he’s seen as a legitimate athlete, not a guy who plays the sport because he’s too uncoordinated to play baseball, too small to play basketball and too weak to play football.You also suspect that Messi can deliver on the pitch. His two years at PSG ended in acrimony, with Messi booed by his own fans and most seeing his stint as a gigantic waste of money. He turns 36 in a couple of weeks and has neither the stamina, nor acceleration, he once had. In fact, he spends much of the game literally at walking pace: he doesn’t press at all and the team has to be built around him. Yet he still delivered a league-leading 14 assists while scoring 16 goals, none of them from the penalty spot, for PSG. That’s because, interspersed with his placid strolls around the pitch, are sudden bursts of genius and acceleration that still befuddle most opponents, the sort of thing you can keep doing even into your late 30s. (Well, if you’re Messi anyway.)
Maybe it was inevitable that, having finally conquered the World Cup, he would opt to conquer a new world rather than revisit his past, ultimately plumping for North America over the Gulf. Fans in North America should count themselves lucky. Because if you attend the right MLS game, you may be able to one day tell your grandkids that you saw Messi in the flesh. Just like your dad tells you he saw Michael Jordan, your grandfather tells you he saw Muhammad Ali and your great-grandfather tells you he saw Babe Ruth.That’s the category of superstar in which Messi exists. — Marcotti
Messi can take MLS to the moon — and beyond
Securing one of the biggest prizes in world soccer in Messi provides a surge of rocket fuel to an organization that is in desperate need of a lift.
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas has been angling to acquire Messi practically from the moment he and co-owners Beckham and Jose Mas were awarded the team in 2018. Now he has his man.
There will be inevitable comparisons to when MLS convinced Beckham to join the Galaxy in 2007, and there are similarities in that there are financial incentives beyond salary that helped cinch the deal.
In Beckham’s case it was a discounted price on an MLS expansion team, which in a bit of serendipity became Inter Miami. Sources confirmed a report from The Athletic that Messi has an option to acquire an ownership stake in Inter Miami, although a source with knowledge of the situation said it will not come at a discount like Beckham’s deal did.service is being offered to Messi. Any agreement involving Adidas would strictly be between the player and the company, and it wouldn’t directly involve MLS, despite the German company outfitting the league’s clubs exclusively since 2006.
All of that said, the times — and needs — of MLS are different. When Beckham signed on in 2007, MLS was still trying to get off the launch pad with just 13 teams. His arrival not only set the stage for other stars such as Thierry Henry and Kaka to come over, but also helped accelerate an expansion boom that by next season will have reached 30 teams.
Messi’s arrival is poised to take MLS to the moon, or even beyond. He is arguably the greatest player who ever lived, something Beckham never was.
The league has been laying the foundation for this move for years, with the increased continental footprint combining well with the global reach of its recent broadcast rights deal with Apple TV. With the 2026 World Cup set to take place in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, the potential is there to greatly increase revenues for all parties involved in the deal.
As for Inter Miami, Messi is a massive antidote for a last-place team who have struggled to generate quality chances, with their expected goal (xG) mark of 0.82 per 90 minutes the worst in the league. If former teammate Sergio Busquets also arrives, so much the better, although there will need to be some adapting to a league that is several notches below what they are accustomed to, not to mention the weather and travel demands. The sight of Messi playing in an 18,000-seat stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will take some getting used to.
Why Lionel Messi heading to MLS would make sense
Rodri Faez explains why Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami in MLS would make more sense than a move to Saudi Pro League.
Yet there is certainly an “others will follow” type of vibe to Messi’s arrival. If that’s the case, money should follow as well. — Carlisle
Messi couldn’t wait for Barcelona again
Barcelona supporters and even some of the club’s hierarchy were split when the possibility of Messi returning surfaced. There were those who thought, after blooding a new generation of youngsters and winning a first LaLiga title since 2019, it was time to turn the page as Messi approaches the end of his career.
There were others, though, who were caught up in the romance of a homecoming for the club’s greatest ever player. Forced to leave in 2021 because Barca could not afford to register the contract they had offered him, this was a chance for Messi to say goodbye properly to fans who have chanted his name in the 10th minute of every home game at Spotify Camp Nou since March. Besides, there is an overwhelming argument to be made that he remains among the best players in the world. Six months ago he led Argentina to the World Cup, while he registered 21 goals and 20 assists across all competitions for PSG this season.
What at first seemed a pipe dream slowly began to feel like a reality. Even some supporters who had been happy to pass on Messi got on board with the idea that, as the club’s vice president Rafa Yuste said at any opportunity, love stories should have beautiful endings.
At the centre of the charm offensive was Barca coach Xavi Hernandez. Throughout the past two weeks, he has made it clear across several interviews that he wanted Messi back, that the forward would provide the missing creativity in the final third and that, with Xavi’s help, Messi would get his fairy-tale ending at the club.
With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps it was a last throw of the dice from Xavi, aware that the chances of bringing him back were slipping away. They slipped away because, like in 2021, Barca could offer no guarantees they would be able to register his contract.
Regardless of what Messi actually earned, LaLiga would have factored his salary in at around €25 million, based on his previous contracts. Barca, who can only spend 40% of what they save or earn because of financial restrictions imposed by the league for exceeding their spending cap, would need to raise more than €60m to inscribe Messi. It could have been possible by August, maybe even July, but certainly not now.
fter waiting in 2021, Messi could not face such uncertainty again. In the immediate aftermath of the news, his move to Miami feels almost like a second Barca exit given all the hope that had been generated in recent weeks. — Marsden
The fan’s perspective: Messi’s arrival a catalyst for growing fan base
Aside from the business standpoint, it’s important to see the significance of Messi’s move to Inter Miami and MLS as a rocket-ship-sized needle-mover for the league and the overall U.S. fan base. The stars are aligning in so many ways that it’s creating a proverbial constellation. Miami, the Latin American capital of the world, will welcome Messi; his wife, Antonella; and their children like adopted royalty, and his presence alone will be another factor — perhaps the biggest — in driving the soccer market in America, where the sport is already rivaling the top three most popular in the nation.
There are millions of children in the U.S. who wear “Messi” shirts as opposed to Patrick Mahomes or Steph Curry. It’s not coincidental. Soccer in America is a growing mountain, and Messi is arriving in a league with developing markets, a massive distributor in Apple, a competitive nature and a city where he doesn’t even need to learn English, one that celebrates the flavor of Latin American and immigrant culture. Oh, and a country that’s hosting the World Cup in 2026.
That’s why this is a major move for the U.S.-based soccer fan. There is already a growing community of fans, especially young ones, whose idol has been Messi. Now, they can see him live across the country. The same goes with the impact of those who want to play the sport and see Messi as a promoter of the beautiful game. Not forgetting that this does wonders for up-and-comers such as his Argentina teammate and Atlanta United midfielder Thiago Almada, and how we might see even more talented players from all over the world — specifically South America — arrive to the league. Argentina’s federation also plans to build a brand-new training facility in Miami, making it the nation’s hub in the U.S.
MLS is the most diverse sports league in North America. With Messi, the impact will be that much bigger. In 2007, Beckham aggressively moved and affected the trajectory of MLS with his arrival to the Galaxy. Now, as Inter Miami owner, he is once again responsible for pushing it to even higher altitudes with the arrival of his friend, Messi. — EchegarayHow signing Lionel Messi will impact Inter Miami, MLS and American soccer
The Athletic Soccer staffJun 7, 2023
A previous version of this piece was published in November 2022. We have updated it here in light of Lionel Messi’s announcement that he will sign for Inter Miami of MLS.
By Pablo Maurer, Jeff Rueter and Felipe Cárdenas
After David Beckham and his Inter Miami partners were awarded MLS’s 25th franchise in late January 2018, the man who revolutionized the league as a player for LA Galaxy shared a video message from Lionel Messi on his Instagram account.“Who knows, maybe in a few years you will give me a call,” Messi concluded after congratulating Beckham on the new project.Six years later, Messi’s video message has come to fruition, as he announced that he will sign for Inter Miami despite offers from Saudi Arabia and Barcelona.It took a lot more than a friendly invitation to get the Argentine superstar stateside, though. Miami and MLS have laid out a king’s ransom for the recent World Cup champion, who many peg as the greatest player in the history of the game. Messi will reportedly get a piece of MLS and Apple’s broadcast partnership, and Adidas, among the league’s oldest sponsors, is also said to be chipping in to bring the Argentine to Miami. Undoubtedly, he will be the highest-paid player in the history of MLS.
No player transaction in MLS history has ever been rife with as much drama and uncertainty as Messi’s move to Miami. Over the past six years, Miami’s ownership has never shied away from their interest. In 2021, Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas told The Athletic, “David and I are working very hard at making something like that happen, which I think is not only transformational for Miami, but I think for the league.”Across MLS, others mirrored his sentiment. The league’s commissioner, Don Garber, said in March that the league was prepared to get creative to lure Messi, a once-in-a-lifetime talent.Miami, of course, were not the only ones interested. Paris St-Germain made their own attempts to keep Messi, and Barcelona made a play as well. Maybe the biggest threat to any MLS deal came from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, who offered a reported $400 million per year for Messi’s services.
In the end, Messi chose MLS.
Pele acknowledges the crowd in Giants Stadium (Photo: George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Messi’s arrival in the U.S. will be the latest in what has been a trend of transformational footballers advancing American soccer with their presence, starting with Pele in the 1970s and continuing with Beckham in the 2000s.No single player in the history of American men’s soccer has had as seismic an effect on the trajectory of the game in this country as Pele. The Brazilian legend famously joined the New York Cosmos of the nascent North American Soccer League in 1975. The Cosmos, backed by the corporate might of media empire Warner Communications, were seeking to do what no other soccer club in American history has ever done: make soccer truly, deeply relevant in this country. For a brief time, it appeared as though they might succeed.Pele’s mere presence with the Cosmos certainly had some short-term benefits: the club’s average home attendance increased from around 3,500 fans in 1975 to around 45,000 by the time of his departure after the 1977 season. Three times, the Cosmos drew over 70,000 fans to watch Pele at Giants Stadium, an unheard of feat in that era. Think about it this way: after his departure, there were some teams in the league whose attendance for an entire season was lower than what the Cosmos drew for a single game during Pele’s tenure.
Away matches featuring the Cosmos became featured attractions; his presence attracted other giants of the game to the NASL — George Best, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and more. What Pele could not do, however, was save the NASL. His outsized impact on the Cosmos inspired an upward trend in spending that would eventually contribute to the demise of the league in 1984.
Pele’s impact, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was generational. In the 1970s, when Cosmos president Clive Toye approached the Brazilian in an attempt to lure him to the States, he made a fairly simple pitch — you’ve won many games and many trophies. In the United States, you have a chance to win an entire country over and be a soccer missionary.
In a way, it worked. Though the NASL collapsed, the kids who watched Pele during his three-year stay in the United States became the U.S.’s first great generation of soccer players, the pioneers who qualified for the 1990 World Cup and featured four years later in the 1994 edition of the tournament on home soil. From the wreckage of the NASL, the founders of Major League Soccer — some of whom had also owned NASL clubs — learned their own lessons. They chose a more reasonable path of financial prudence, one that helped keep the league alive for nearly twice as long as the NASL ever existed.
Beckham waves to fans after playing his last game for LA Galaxy (Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
All of this meant that when Beckham arrived in MLS in 2007, the league was better equipped to make the most of their new global superstar than the NASL ever was. That season, the league had 13 teams, just three more than its inaugural season in 1996 — including newcomers Toronto FC, who paid a $10 million (£8.7m) expansion fee to join MLS — and an average league-wide attendance of 16,770 (over three million in total).In 2023, MLS has 29 teams — including newcomers St Louis City SC – with a 30th on the way in San Diego.That supercharged growth is largely thanks to Beckham.“Without doubt, MLS has more global awareness than at any other time in our history and has more legitimacy in the United States because of David,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told the New York Times in November 2007. “Every measure of our business has grown because of him. We have sold more than 300,000 Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy jerseys, which was 700 times the number of Galaxy jerseys sold in 2006. Merchandise sales overall have gone up two or three times. International TV sales have gone up from next to nothing to distribution in 100 countries, with live games in Asia and Mexico.”Messi’s presence in MLS could potentially have a similar effect on league-wide attendance, international exposure, merchandise sales and in attracting other talented players as Pele and Beckham before him, even though he is joining a league that’s in a stronger position than either of his predecessors. It is difficult to imagine that any MLS stadium would not be full to watch a man that many peg as the greatest player in the history of the game. If anything, MLS’ soccer-specific stadiums, many of which hold 18,000 to 30,000 people, might not be big enough to maximize gate revenue when Messi comes to town, given that crowds of 60,000 to 80,000 turned out to see Messi on a Barcelona pre-season tour in 2017.It feels possible that some MLS clubs would consider hosting Inter Miami matches in larger venues – local NFL or college stadiums – though that remains to be seen. It’s also a tricky calculus. Do those teams surrender a potential home field advantage in exchange for a cash windfall? Prices on the secondary market for Miami matches across MLS have already begun to rise.MLS clubs could also simply raise the prices of the seats in their undersized stadiums to match demand, something that feels entirely possible.The economic impact Messi would have on Inter Miami alone is its own story.
If the numbers PSG reported during Messi’s stay in Paris were any indication, Inter Miami will become among the most popular brands in American sports. According to a report from Marca, PSG generated €700million in revenue over the course of one year after his arrival.
The report cites an investigation by Argentine outlet El Economista, which reported that since Messi joined the club, PSG had added 10 new sponsorship deals ranging from €3m to €8m each. Image rights and match day sales also skyrocketed, as did demand for Messi’s No. 30 PSG shirt. In July 2021, Diario Ole in Argentina revealed that only Real Madrid had sold more shirts than PSG since Messi’s arrival in France, with 60 percent of PSG shirts sold being Messi’s.
On social media, PSG saw its following increase astronomically. PSG gained 5.6 million followers the week after announcing Messi’s signing and have since added 15 million new followers across its social media platforms. PSG also became the most followed French company on Instagram. Messi’s personal Instagram following of 468 million dwarfs LeBron James’ 154 million and Tom Brady’s 14 million.
Messi’s departure had it’s own effect on the brand: PSG lost 2 million followers on Instagram in the weeks after it became clear he wouldn’t return.
“He is the most impactful player on the planet. Moving to any MLS club would fundamentally change the fabric of the league,” AJ Swoboda, managing director for the Americas at sports consultancy Twenty First Group, told The Athletic’s Matt Slater in 2021.
Messi is a marketer’s dream. Not only could he significantly alter the brand equity of both Inter Miami and MLS, but he seems likely to boost his personal interests, as well. Particularly as North America prepares to host the 2026 World Cup and more money than ever before is poured into the game by businesses operating in the U.S. The group that put together North America’s 2026 hosting bid projects the newly expanded, 48-team event will make $14 billion in revenue for FIFA — a massive increase on the $235 million in rebuke generated by the last World Cup hosted in the US in 1994.
By establishing a substantial presence in the U.S., Messi seems set to become an even greater focus for sponsorship dollars. He could even follow in Beckham’s footsteps further by owning an MLS club himself one day — perhaps one in Las Vegas. The Athletic reported on Tuesday that MLS and Inter Miami’s offer to Messi included the option to purchase part of an MLS team after leaving the league or retiring as a player.
The timing of his arrival feels perfect for MLS.2023 marked the beginning of what the league is billing as a groundbreaking 10-year broadcast agreement with Apple. Every one of the league’s matches is broadcast on MLS Season Pass, the a streaming service contained within Apple TV+.The foundation of MLS’s $2.5 billion agreement with Apple rests on subscription sales, a portion of which could go to Messi as part of his deal according to The Athletic’s recent reporting. Apple has made slightly more than 40 percent of its MLS inventory available for free to anyone with an internet connection this year, but the remaining nearly 60 percent of MLS games are only available to Season Pass subscribers.MLS long had poor viewership for its nationally broadcast matches under previous media rights deals with traditional cable and over-the-air networks. According to Sports Business Journal, average MLS regular season viewership fell six percent on the Fox family of networks to 198,000 per game last year. Spanish-language telecasts on the Univision networks dipped 14 percent to 244,0000 from 2021. Average viewership for MLS matches on ESPN’s English-language networks grew by 12 percent, but that figure was driven by a doubling of the number of matches shown on the ABC broadcast network. The average viewership for matches on ABC actually went down by seven percent to 469,000 this season, while average viewership on ESPN fell two percent to 252,000 in 2022.
What was once a small domestic market feels much larger with the presence of Messi. What’s more, the league and Apple have both touted the availability of Season Pass abroad, another potential revenue stream for Apple. Messi alone will no doubt get a decent amount of new subscribers through the door.
Inter Miami play at the temporary DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
And then there are on-field matters. To put it lightly, Inter Miami won’t have the supporting cast that Messi enjoys with his national team or PSG, or anything like the assembly line of quality young players he elevated at Barcelona. In fact, following the imposed sanctions for breaking the league’s budget rules and assessments that Inter Miami “launched a brand, not a team,” Miami has plummeted to the bottom of the league. Phil Neville, the club’s most recent manager, was sacked last week. Inter, who are led by interim head coach Javi Morales, are currently in discussions with former Atlanta United head coach Tata Martino for a permanent job. It feels like a very Messi-oriented hire.
Current Paraguay national team coach and former Galaxy boss Guillermo Barros Schelotto, a Messi family friend and an MLS legend as a player, set a unique set of parameters that an MLS side would have to meet in order to lure the Argentine to the league.
“(In MLS) I’d expect him to play for one of the teams in Los Angeles, Miami or on a team with an Argentine influence — someone who can work closely with him, whether that’s a coach or an executive,” Barros Schelotto told The Athletic before Messi signed with PSG.
So does Messi make Miami instant MLS Cup favorites? Vegas will likely say so, but the realistic answer is no.
Those sanctions against Inter Miami extend through the end of this year, leaving the club hamstrung to retool the squad in certain ways. That, more than anything else, will likely keep them from being MLS Cup favorites until 2024 at the soonest. This year appears to be a wash, though in MLS, where nine teams make the postseason in each conference, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that Inter could turn things around.“But it’s Messi!” some will say. However, history has shown that one individual alone can’t conquer MLS like an NBA superstar might.Take Beckham as an example. He joined LA Galaxy at a time when an MLS team’s best path to contention was to build through the American college soccer system. He had a worthy attacking ace in Landon Donovan at the height of his powers — and he still didn’t win the MLS Cup until his fifth season with the team. Thierry Henry joined a perennial contender in the New York Red Bulls and didn’t even make it to the MLS Cup final. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was irresistibly prolific in front of goal during his two seasons with the Galaxy, but MLS remains the only league in which he’s played without winning a major trophy.The best comparison to Messi joining Miami in the summer window would be one from recent memory. Toronto FC made Lorenzo Insigne the highest-paid player in league history when he left Napoli to collect $14 million per season last year. The Euro 2020-winning winger was joined by Italy team-mate Federico Bernardeschi and former international left-back Domenico Criscito, but after starting the season so poorly before the Italian cavalry arrived, Bob Bradley’s side finished as the league’s second-worst in 2022.This year, things have gone from bad to worse. Bernadeschi and Insigne’s relationship with each other – and with the club as a whole – has soured. Toronto, which has the highest payroll in MLS, are arguably the league’s worst team.Simply having the best player in the league isn’t a guarantee of success on the pitch. In fact, only two of the last 14 MVP winners played for the eventual MLS Cup winner (Robbie Keane of LA Galaxy in 2014, Josef Martinez of Atlanta United in 2018).Messi will instantly make Miami appointment viewing, fill the club and league’s coffers and influence a new generation of American fans and players, but don’t think his presence alone will automatically turn Miami into an MLS Cup winner.(Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images; Design: Sam Richardson)
Why Lionel Messi didn’t return to Barcelona – despite both wanting a deal
By Pol Ballús
Jun 7, 2023
117
Barcelona was Lionel Messi’s preferred option from all the offers he had on the table and Barcelona senior sources were desperate to get him back. But like every team that wanted to sign Messi — and any transfer Barcelona have wanted to do over the past two summers — it was not that simple.
He has now moved to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami instead.
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“I had offers from another European team, but I didn’t even consider it because my idea in Europe was only to return to Barcelona,” Messi said in an interview with Sport and Mundo Deportivo. “After winning the World Cup and not being able to join Barcelona, it was time to go to MLS and live football from another perspective, enjoying more my daily life. Obviously, I’ll have the same responsibility on my job and desire to win everything and doing things right. But being more calm.”
Last week, Barcelona sources, who were granted anonymity as they did not have permission to discuss this transfer, indicated it would be very difficult to complete a deal for Messi. Barcelona could not, as it stood, offer Messi guarantees that he would be registered with the club.
What awaits Lionel Messi in MLS with Inter Miami?
This has been an ongoing issue for Barcelona. La Liga has rules around salary caps. If a team goes over their allotted amount — which is based on financial performance in recent seasons — they are unable to register a player and therefore unable to use them in the league. It does not matter if they are able to pay them or not.
This was the issue when Messi left Barcelona in 2021. He had agreed a new contract but because of the salary cap rule they were unable to register him — and therefore he had to leave. He ended up joining Paris Saint-Germain.
It did not end with Messi’s exit. Last summer, Barcelona signed Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde. Lewandowski, Kessie, Christensen and Raphinha were only registered in the days before the season began after Barcelona activated a series of ‘economic levers’. Kounde was registered just before the window closed.
La Liga has recently approved Barcelona’s viability plan for next season but with some conditions. They are still above their salary limit. In order to keep reducing the limit, La Liga will only allow Barcelona to spend 40 per cent of any money they raise through sales and loans on new signings. For example, if they sell a player who reduces their salary bill by €100million, they would be able to register a player with a €40m salary.
(Photo: Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
The viability plan being approved means they can now register new contracts for Gavi, Ronald Araujo, Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso. It also means they can confirm the arrival of defender Inigo Martinez from Athletic Bilbao.
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Barcelona, therefore, had to find further capacity to sign Messi. And they had very little time to do so.
Messi had already verbally agreed with the club that he would have a salary of approximately €25m (£21m) a year. This means they would have needed to free up around £70m in salaries to register him.
That’s a lot for Barcelona to do at speed and Messi clearly wanted to make a swift decision about his future. Barcelona would have struggled to close big sales like that in the near future, as head coach Xavi has not even spoken to the players he’d like to leave. Ferran Torres, Franck Kessie and Ansu Fati could be among those players.
After returning from their friendly in Japan, Xavi essentially told the players he would see them on July 10 when pre-season begins. While conversations are still expected to happen sooner rather than later, they were not soon enough to influence Messi’s decision.
The only way Barcelona would have been able to complete a deal for Messi is if he had decided to wait for them. This would have given them the time to sell the players they need to. Xavi essentially said this in recent interviews when he pointed out that Messi had “99 per cent of the power”. This did not impress people close to Messi, who thought it added pressure to a situation the player was growing tired over.
There was serious risk involved in waiting for Messi. His last experience of dealing with Barcelona served as a severe warning and reduced his trust levels with the club. The trauma from that would leave him with little confidence they would be able to do that.
Just two years ago, Barcelona only told him at the last minute he would have to leave as they could not register him. In a mirror-image of those events, a crucial meeting between Laporta and Jorge Messi took place just before Barcelona landed in Japan for Tuesday’s friendly against Vissel Kobe.
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A source close to Messi, who has been kept anonymous as they did not have permission to speak about this decision, said: “If in 2021 the relationship (between Barcelona and) La Liga looked more or less fine and, eventually, they kicked us out; what can we expect now when their relationships are going through, reportedly, a rough patch?”
Messi said last night: “I wanted to come back, but at the same time with the way I left the club, I did not want to find myself in the same situation, which was waiting for whatever can happen and leave my future to someone else’s hands.”
There was also another concern for Messi. Barcelona are already executing cost-cutting actions within the club in order to fight against their financial problems. Regular employees from several departments at Barcelona were concerned about their job security, while the club have also planned a 15 per cent cut across the other sports they play — which include basketball, handball, hockey and futsal.
Messi’s camp highlighted over the past few weeks how unpleasant it would be to have his name tied to this. He has a special relationship with Barca TV, the club’s in-house network which is going to shut down in the summer. Barca TV recorded his first clips playing for Barcelona as a youngster and his first interviews. He has had good relationships with Barca TV employees over the years.
“I heard Barcelona had to sell players or make pay cuts and the truth is I didn’t wanna go through that or feel responsible about something like this,” he said in confirming his move to Miami.
Due to all of his concerns, Messi’s camp has now moved quickly to sort out his future with guarantees, less than a week after his exit from Paris Saint-Germain was first made clear.
This might seem odd, given president Joan Laporta and Messi’s father, Jorge, met on Monday. It now looks as though it was partly a desperate attempt for a last-minute solution but also a matter of optics. It’s a good look for Barcelona if they make it seem like they put in every effort to make a deal happen, even if it was impossible. It also makes it clear to the world — at least on the surface — that the Messi family love Barcelona and how keen the player was to return to his footballing ‘home’.
Instead, he will now move to Inter Miami and play in MLS, following in the footsteps of other greats like Pele and David Beckham in moving to the United States.
While Messi will not make an emotional return to Barcelona this summer, it is clearly not for a lack of desire or trying on either part. His future has ultimately come down to Barcelona’s finances and La Liga rules — much like his exit in 2021.
Inter Miami pushing to land Lionel Messi over Barcelona, per sources
By The Athletic Staff
Jun 6, 2023
242
By Paul Tenorio, Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer
Major League Soccer and Inter Miami are solidifying details around the potential signing of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.
Multiple sources briefed on the negotiations said there is growing hope that Inter Miami could close a deal to bring the World Cup winner to MLS as soon as this summer. Those sources also warned that confidence in a deal with Messi has fluctuated week to week and even day to day. All sources in this story were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing negotiations.
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One source briefed on the high-level league discussions said MLS executives were told Messi’s decision is down to Inter Miami or Barcelona and that joining a club from Saudi Arabia is “not under consideration.” That same source mentioned a potential date for Messi’s MLS debut, should he sign: Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Mexican side Cruz Azul on July 21, currently set to be held at Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium.
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Reports about Messi’s imminent decision have emerged from Europe, South America and Asia, and have run the gamut this week, but momentum seems to have shifted toward Inter Miami in recent days.
“The league has gotten very creative with all of this,” one MLS stakeholder said of a potential deal to bring Messi to MLS on Tuesday morning. “Everything is on the table.”
MLS’s offer to Messi involves contributions from the league’s two biggest commercial partners.
Multiple sources involved in or briefed on the high-level league discussions said earlier this week that MLS and Apple have discussed offering Messi a share of the revenue generated by new subscribers to MLS Season Pass, the league’s streaming package on Apple TV+. Both sides view Messi’s potential involvement in Major League Soccer as a boon; Apple and MLS signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion agreement this spring. On Tuesday, Apple revealed that a four-part docuseries chronicling Messi’s five World Cup appearances would stream on Apple TV+.
Adidas, which is among MLS’ largest corporate sponsors, has prepared its own potential arrangement to entice Messi to the United States, multiple sources briefed on those plans told The Athletic on Tuesday. Messi is being offered a profit-sharing agreement with the sportswear giant, those sources said, which would involve the player receiving a cut of any increase in Adidas’ profits resulting from his involvement in MLS.
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Adidas has partnered with MLS since the league’s inception in 1996. The two sides renewed their partnership earlier this year, signing a six-year, $830 million extension that runs through 2030. The German manufacturer supplies kits to all 29 MLS teams and also designs the league’s official match ball and is the league’s official footwear sponsor.
Messi himself has a long-standing relationship with Adidas, which started in 2006. In 2017, he signed a lifetime footwear sponsorship deal with the company.
Sources across the league who have been briefed on talks varied in their confidence level of whether Inter Miami and MLS would be able to win the race to sign Messi. One source classified it as 50-50. Another said even Inter Miami team executives are split on whether they think it will happen. The negotiations are being led by Inter Miami owners Jorge and Jose Mas, those sources said.
Messages left for Inter Miami spokespeople and Jorge and Jose Mas were not returned as of publication.
Messi’s deal likely would include the option to purchase a percentage of an MLS team upon the end of his time as a player in MLS, multiple sources briefed on the discussions said. That would at least resemble David Beckham’s contract with the LA Galaxy, which gave him the option to purchase an MLS expansion team for $25 million. That option eventually became Inter Miami.
‘We launched a brand, not a team’: Inside Inter Miami’s disastrous start in MLS
Miami has been hoping to sign Messi almost since its inception. When the expansion team was officially announced in 2018, Messi posted a video on social media congratulating Beckham and saying, “Who knows, maybe in a few years you can give me a ring.” The club has worked to build up connections to Messi and even has links to his longtime club, Barcelona. Miami’s chief business officer is Xavier Asensi, the former Barcelona chief commercial officer and member of the Spanish club’s executive board. In April, Beckham, who finished his playing career with Paris Saint-Germain, visited the club’s training facility and was photographed with Messi, which fueled rumors about the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s potential arrival to MLS.
Should Messi come to Miami, he could be greeted by a familiar face. Multiple sources involved in or briefed on Miami’s coaching search confirmed to The Athletic that preliminary talks have taken place between Inter Miami and Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who is currently without a job after leaving his post with the Mexico national team in December.
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Miami is currently led by interim head coach Javier Morales. The club’s previous coach, Phil Neville, was fired last week.
What went wrong for Phil Neville at Inter Miami, by the numbers
Martino, 60, coached Messi and Argentina to consecutive Copa América final appearances, including the 2016 edition that was held in the U.S. Martino also managed Messi at Barcelona from 2013-2014.
Martino won an MLS Cup as manager of Atlanta United in 2018. Despite disagreements with Atlanta’s sporting department regarding player signings, Martino led the two-year-old club to a league title in 2018, his second and final season in MLS. His influence on player recruitment was paramount to Atlanta United’s immediate success.
A source close to Martino, who requested anonymity due to the nature of their relationship, told The Athletic that Messi and Martino got along fine when they worked together. They weren’t close and they weren’t distant either, the source said. Seven years later, both player and manager have matured in different ways. Messi, once considered a failure with his national team, is now a World Cup champion. Martino is coming off a tumultuous four-year campaign with Mexico with a keen interest in returning to MLS. Inter Miami declined to comment on potential coaching candidates.
“MLS is my weakness,” Martino told The Athletic in April. “I was part of an extraordinary project with Atlanta United that had a clear direction, a lot of communication and similar objectives that were established very quickly and executed. After coaching in MLS, I became attracted to it. I like the league. The possibility of returning to MLS is always there.”
MLS commissioner Don Garber told The Athletic in March it would likely take a creative deal — like the one Beckham had when he joined the LA Galaxy in 2007 — for the league to land Messi.
“You’re dealing with perhaps the most special player in the history of the game,” Garber said of Messi. “So when there are rumors of him connected to Miami, that’s great. And if it could happen, it would be terrific for MLS, it would be terrific for Messi and his family, and like everything with us, we try to run every opportunity down. I can’t give any more details than that because we don’t have them.”
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Messi signed a two-year deal with PSG last season after spending the previous 17 years with Barcelona. The French side won its 11th Ligue 1 title this season, with Messi netting 16 goals with 16 assists in 32 league games. He added four goals over seven games in Champions League play. PSG reached the Round of 16 in Champions League in 2022-23 before falling to Bayern Munich.
Last month, he was suspended for two weeks by PSG for taking an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. Saudi club Al-Hilal is also in the running for Messi’s signature, having offered a deal reportedly worth over $400 million per year.
Inter Miami, founded in 2018, is co-owned by Beckham. It went 14-6-14 last season, finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference, and is 5-0-11 this year. Even before they kicked a ball, Inter Miami was expected to eventually field a team of stars, an MLS version of Galácticos. This was due mostly to comments that Mas has made publicly.
“David and I have been working really hard, we have aspirations of bringing the best players here and Leo Messi is a generational player, arguably the best player of all time,” Mas told the Miami Herald in 2021. “I am optimistic Messi will play in an Inter Miami shirt because I think it will complete the legacy of the greatest player in our generation and will meet with the ambitions of the owners of Inter Miami to build a world class team.”
The reality has been much different. Yes, Miami has fielded World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi and former Argentina and Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín. But players like Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodríguez, Radamel Falcao, Antoine Griezmann, Marco Verratti, Edinson Cavani, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and others have amounted to rumors or deals that fell well short of reality. Inter Miami needs a big star or the fans in South Florida won’t show up on match day.
Will Lionel Messi come to MLS? In Miami, everyone has something to say
“This town wants to be turned on, you know what I mean?” Neville said in February. “I think this club is far from working-class. It’s got to have a little bit of glitz and glamor. It’s gotta aim for the moon rather than the stars. That comes with the location that we’re in. The people of Miami want to be turned on. They want South Beach.”
Neville didn’t last to see whether Messi will in fact come to MLS. He did, however, have an opinion on the impact his signing would have on the league.
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“I think it goes bigger than Inter Miami,” said Neville. “It’s big for the MLS. I think this would be probably the biggest signing, ever. I think if we have the opportunity to sign Messi and if he does come to this football club — and I don’t think we can hide away from the fact that we are probably in the ballpark, probably in the hunt, is that we have to be prepared for that.”
Christian Pulisic and Chelsea have run their course – so where next for the USMNT star?
Liam Twomey and Paul Tenorio Jun 7, 2023
With 88 minutes on the clock against Newcastle on the Premier League’s final day, the fourth official held up his No 10 and Christian Pulisic ran onto the Stamford Bridge pitch, likely for the last time as a Chelsea player.His arrival was greeted with lukewarm cheers and an audible smattering of boos.ADVERTISEMENT
During his short time in that match, the American forward touched the ball just three times but still found himself in a position to score a late winner, played in by Raheem Sterling’s pass. His low shot was saved by Martin Dubravka and, at the next break in play, he cupped his hands behind his head with a grimace, before sinking to his knees and staring at the turf.
It would have been only Pulisic’s second league goal of what has been comfortably his most frustrating and least productive season at Chelsea. He ranked 20th in the squad for minutes played across all competitions in 2022-23, putting him behind January loan signing Joao Felix, January departure Jorginho and Edouard Mendy, who lost the No 1 goalkeeper spot to Kepa Arrizabalaga in September.
There have been other signs beyond the numbers in recent months that suggest this particular relationship has run its course.
Warming up on the Molineux touchline as he readied himself to come on in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in April, Pulisic was abused by some in the away section. A similar scene played out as outgoing caretaker manager Frank Lampard led his players on a muted lap of appreciation around Stamford Bridge after the Newcastle draw.
(Photo: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
“It’s been an interesting journey at the club level for me,” Pulisic said while on USMNT duty this week. “I had what I thought was a great couple of years and the last couple of years just haven’t gone at all how I planned them to be.”
The source of the antipathy towards Pulisic from some in the Chelsea fanbase is hard to pinpoint. His perceived criticism of hugely popular former head coach Thomas Tuchel in his 2022 book went down badly with many. Some of it may also be a reaction to the hype that continues to surround him across the Atlantic as the face of American soccer — hype that he largely justified with a series of impressive displays at the World Cup in Qatar.
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Perhaps it is simply born of frustration that, after a blistering end to the COVID-19-affected 2019-20 season that appeared to herald the emergence of a new Chelsea talisman, Pulisic has never come particularly close to recapturing such form. His direct goal contributions (goals and assists) per 90 minutes in the Premier League recovered a little in 2021-22 before sinking to new depths last season.
It must be noted, however, that virtually all of the other attackers at Stamford Bridge have also been on downward trajectories by the same metric over the same period…
https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/14032574/embed?auto=1
Ever since Tuchel’s appointment in January 2021, Pulisic has had to manage a sense of grievance at not being given the same level of opportunities as many of his attacking team-mates. But that is in the past.
Chelsea have given off plenty of signals in the first year of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s ownership that they are moving on from the American, not least spending in excess of £100million ($124.1m) combined on Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Last summer, Chelsea’s ownership also offered Pulisic as part of financial packages designed to tempt AC Milan into talks regarding Rafael Leao. Though movements in the market are now being led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, the club continue to regard including the 24-year-old in larger deal structures for transfer targets as a potentially good way to realise value for a player who has been slow to command viable interest in the market.
(Photo: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
Pulisic’s status as one of the higher earners at Stamford Bridge has frequently been cited as a significant reason for that but, at this stage, he is very willing to take a pay cut in order to facilitate a change of scene and a chance to kick-start his career. Chelsea are also very much incentivised to find a new home for a player entering the final year of the contract he signed as a £58million arrival from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019.
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The bigger issue might be Chelsea’s valuation.
While there is a belief within the market that £20million would be a reasonable price for Pulisic, the club are wary of setting any kind of precedent for compromising on transfer fees for players in the final year of their deals — particularly while talks with Manchester United over Mason Mount and Manchester City over Mateo Kovacic are ongoing.
Remaining in the Premier League holds a lot of appeal, but Pulisic’s market in England will only realistically come from clubs outside the traditional ‘big six’. Newcastle are expected to be aggressive recruiters after qualifying for the Champions League for the first time under PIF’s ownership and did enquire about taking the American on loan last summer, but they have already informed Chelsea that they are not interested in signing him in this window.
(Photo: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
The crushing financial superiority of England’s top flight necessarily limits the interest from continental Europe.
Germany is not viewed as a potential destination, with Pulisic having already played for Dortmund and Tuchel now in charge at Bayern Munich. In Spain, Real Madrid have loftier targets and Barcelona huge financial challenges just to register free-agent signings. There is no indication that French champions Paris Saint-Germain are interested and, in any case, the fallout from the Manuel Ugarte transfer saga has exacerbated tensions with Chelsea.
That leaves Italy.
Milan are possible suitors despite tying Leao down to a long-term extension. Napoli could be in the market for a winger if Hirving Lozano leaves, while Juventus are attractive even without being able to offer Champions League football. Serie A as a league is keen to grow its American audience; what better way to do that than to provide the stage for USMNT’s best player to revive his club career?
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It would be a surprise if Pulisic’s future is resolved quickly, given all the moving parts at play.
But it would be a much bigger surprise to see him in a Chelsea shirt again.
(Photos in top image: James Williamson – AMA / Getty Images; Visionhaus / Getty Images. Designed by Eamonn Dalton)
Champions League final, Manchester City vs. Inter: Three keys to victory for each side in Istanbul on Saturday
From Erling Haaland to Romelu Lukaku, here’s what each side needs to do to come out ahead on Saturday
By Chuck BoothJun 5, 2023 at 2:50 pm ET•5 min read
Watch Now:Morning Footy debates what’s next for Jo…(1:08)
The Champions League final is around the corner as Manchester City and Inter will meet in Istanbul for the greatest prize in European sports. City has never won the Champions League while Inter last hoisted the prestigious trophy in 2010 defeating Bayern Munich. Inter has been one of the hottest teams in soccer as of late but stopping Manchester City on their quest to win a treble will be quite a tall task.
Looking at the tactical questions ahead for Pep Guardiola and Simone Inzaghi shows just how interesting of a chess match this will be with Inter’s defense trying to matchup with a City attack that is among the best to grace the game of soccer. But looking ahead, what does each team need to do to ensure victory?
How to watch and odds
Date: Saturday, June 10 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Atatürk Olympic Stadium — Istanbul, Turkey
TV: CBS | Live Stream: Paramount+
Inter can win if they…
1. Control the midfield
City are a team that can stop you no matter what you try to do, so the best way to slow them down is by matching up in midfield. Inter are a team that can do that due to their balanced midfield and organized defense. Being able to slot in Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, and Hakan Calhanoglu, Inzaghi has quite a crew of midfielders, and it’s one that will only get deeper if Henrikh Mkhitaryan is available for the match.
Each midfielder brings different skills to the table but they’re also not afraid to play defense and sacrifice attacking numbers for the sake of the team. Things like this are critical to slow down City’s attack as Guardiola has a midfielder for every situation and there’s no way to truly stop them all. If a team is focusing on Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan is here to score a brace and Rodri can hit rockets from outside the box if he’s forgotten about and that’s why awareness is key. Being smart with possession and also pressing when needed, is where the game will be won or lost.
2. Andre Onana stands tall
Since no team can truly stop City, what will be important for Inter is what they do when City is able to break down their defense. That’s where Onana shines under pressure for this team. Onana has eight clean sheets in Champions League play so far over 1080 minutes behind 44 saves. Conceding less than a goal per game, 25 of those saves have come from shots taken inside the box which is the second-highest number behind only Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid. These saves in the box show that when teams do slip in behind Inter, Onana has their back allowing the defense to be more aggressive because they have faith in their keeper keeping things in order.
These are reasons why Onana took over for long-standing keeper Samir Handanovic during the season despite the latter being the club captain. Onana will need to be on his game and then some against Manchester City but based on how the season has gone, that’s expected.
3. Get Romelu Lukaku involved
The biggest decision for Inzaghi is who starts at striker out of Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko. While both can link up well with Lautaro Martinez, they bring different things to the match. Dzeko’s power and ability on corner kicks can be useful in matches but City doesn’t allow the ball in the air much where Inter can utilize him to his full abilities. Lukaku, while he had a slow start to his Inter return, has been integral to the club as of late scoring and assisting key goals for the team.
With his confidence and all-around game right now, Lukaku forces City to step up and defend Inter differently which creates space for Martinez to work into. With the strength of the midfielders, if there’s space to exploit, attackers will be found and Lukaku helps that happen. After Onana, he’s one of the biggest x-factors in this game.
Manchester City can win if they…
1. Keep things simple
Generally, the only team that can beat Manchester City is themselves which is why Guardiaola’s lineup decisions are always under a microscope. City has the best collection of talent in the world but if they’re put in unfamiliar spots in a game of this magnitude, there’s always a chance that the team can overthink things and make a critical mistake. If Nathan Ake is healthy, Guardiola’s lineup can be written in Sharpie as: Ederson, Ake, Dias, Akanji, Stones, Rodri, Gundogan, de Bruyne, Grealish, Silva, Haaland.
That’s the lineup that got the team here and it’s the same one that can also get them over the line for the Champions League trophy. There are so many options of ways that City can set up to defeat a team when they come out like this and despite Inter being soundly setup, they’d get pulled apart if City are at their best.
2. Haaland runs the show
Goalscoring is great but Haaland’s presence is even better. His runs open space for the rest of the team and he’s not a selfish striker at all. From heading the ball over defenders, curling devastating shots into the box, and laying off for his teammates, he has it all. Haaland has scored 52 goals and assisted nine more in all competitions and the scary thing is that he could’ve scored more goals if he wanted to.
Haaland is dangerman in this game and Inter has to devote quite a large portion of the team defense to stopping him. If they don’t, Haaland will go and score a hat trick which is why there’s truly no way to defend City. Stop the midfield and you still have to make sure that the Norwegian doesn’t get.
3. Ederson doesn’t hurt himself
Back to City being the only team that can beat City is that Ederson is the only person who can beat Ederson. A keeper who can make flawless passes out of the back and big time saves when needed, Ederson can sometimes get caught out trying to do too much. From holding the ball and doing a flashy move instead of just clearing things or just falling asleep while City are in possession of the ball and missing the one save that he’s asked to make per game.
During the Champions League final, Ederson has to be locked in for all 90 mintues which should seem like a simple thing but something that hasn’t happened at times this season. Bring the best to Istanbul and it’s hard to see a situation where Manchester City doesn’t leave with a victory.
Champions League final: Why underdogs Inter stand a chance against mighty Manchester City
Simone Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri are all that stands between Pep Guardiola and the UCL, but Inter are a cup team that cannot be overlooked
By Jonathan Johnson May 17, 2023 at 7:05 pm ET•3 min read CBS.com
Getty Images
Manchester City delivered a frighteningly complete performance on Wednesday to see off Real Madrid 4-0 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate. Pep Guardiola’s side were hugely superior in the first half and would have been out of sight had Thibaut Courtois not been in exceptional form between the sticks for the Spanish giants. City were the better side over the two legs despite Real enjoying a dominant spell in the first and the Premier League titleholders look primed to snag their first Champions League crown.
Standing in their way are Inter who edged Milan 1-0 on Tuesday to complete a 3-0 aggregate success to book a first UCL final since their 2010 success under Jose Mourinho. The Nerazzurri have impressed in their ability to dump out the likes of Porto, Benfica and now their bitter Rossoneri rivals, but they have not come up against any side quite like this City. So, do Inter stand any chance at all in Istanbul come June 10? We look at reasons for Inter fans to believe that it can happen:
Inter are a true cup team
One thing abundantly clear from this run to the final is that this Inter team are made for cup competitions. They seem to thrive in this sort of environment and have managed to notch a Coppa Italia final in addition to this and are back in Serie A’s top four too. Inzaghi might not be able to get the best out of his squad across all competitions for a full season, but there is no doubt that their strengths lie away from the Italian league scene right now. Atalanta and Juventus have fallen to Inter as they seek to defend their Coppa title and those successes should be factored into the build-up, especially as Juve were seen off over two legs. Inter hitting their stride at just the right time could make them a dangerous wildcard for City to have fallen upon.
City might have peaked
Something else possibly counting in Inter’s favor is how difficult it will be for City to replicate the perfection of their second-leg mastery against Real when they only have one game to do it this time around. In 90 minutes, anything can happen, as we saw in City’s final appearance against Chelsea just two years ago. Guardiola’s first leg setup was not perfect although it did produce the desired outcome of not losing in Madrid but the Spaniard cannot afford to leave anything to chance if he wants to add his third Champions League title and first outside of Barcelona. City seem primed for success in what could be a historic end to the season for them, but they do not have the luxury of 180 minutes here having drawn 1-1 in each of the three knockout rounds — albeit with big winning margins at Etihad Stadium which itself accounts for some of it.
Inter’s defense-led revival
The Italians might not boast star names like David Alaba, Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger, but Inter’s combination of Matteo Darmian, Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni is undeniably strong. With Andre Onana backing them up between the sticks and Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco up and down either side, nobody finds it easy against them. Most impressively, Milan Skriniar has barely been missed at all since his back injury which required surgery and there is no guarantee that he will be back in time for this one either. A closer look at the numbers and Inter have kept five clean sheets from a possible six en route to the final which is impressive by any standards with nine goals scored in those six games to underline that they are no slouches in front of goal either.
City are huge favorites
Perhaps most crucial of all will be the fact that City are well and truly the favorites coming into this one which was not as clear up against Bayern Munich and certainly not against Real. Inter are unfancied ahead of this final and people are already writing them off — hence this article — but as we have already discussed, there is already enough evidence that the job is not done for City. Casting our minds back to UEFA Euro 2020 should serve as a cautionary tale too when Italy upset England against the odds at Wembley to end up as champions. Another Anglo-Italian battle for European supremacy could not end up similarly, could it?
Champions League final preview: Man City vs Inter – where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups, form guide
Thursday, June 8, 2023
When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter.
Manchester City meet Inter in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday 10 June.
Champions League final at a glance
When: Saturday 10 June (21:00 CET kick-off, 22:00 local time)
Where: Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul
What: 68th European Cup final
Who: 2021 runners-up City vs three-time winners Inter
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch the Champions League final on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
The teams are meeting for the first time, the biggest club prize in world football is once again up for grabs, City are in sight of a treble and the venue is the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, stage for arguably the most memorable final of them all.
City have been banging on the door for some time now, but this is just their second final and they are yet to break their duck. Coach Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, is looking to join the elite group of three-time winners, having previously lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2011, and also become only the sixth man to win it with two clubs. Sandwiched between those two Barcelona triumphs was the most recent of Inter’s three wins – then it was José Mourinho; is now the turn of Simone Inzaghi?
Possible starting line-ups
Man City: Ederson; Walker, Rúben Dias, Aké; Stones, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Grealish; Haaland
Inter: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martínez, Džeko
Form guide
Man City
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WLDWWW
Where they finished: Premier League champions, FA Cup winners
Inter
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWWLWW
Where they finished: 3rd in Serie A, Coppa Italia winners
Expert predictions
Matthew Howarth, Man City reporter
Given the manner in which Guardiola’s team dispatched Bayern and holders Real Madrid, it is no surprise they are regarded by many as favourites. There is something mesmerising about watching City overwhelm even the strongest of opponents with a potent combination of pinpoint passing accuracy, ferocious pressing and electric pace. Games of this magnitude are often settled by fine margins, but City have the bit between their teeth and if they play as well as they have been, a maiden Champions League title could well be theirs.
Vieri Capretta, Inter reporter
Back in the final after 13 years, but in a very different position – it feels like Inter have little to lose against this City side. Tactically, the Nerazzurri are solid at the back and fluid going forward, moving well as a team, with a physically demanding style of play that requires everyone to be at the top of their game. Inter defend as a block and attack as a unit. Inzaghi’s side have shown themselves to be adept at adapting to their opponent, so we can expect them defend low and play on the break. Will it be enough?
European Cup final pedigree
Man City
European Cup final record: P1 W0 L1 F0 A1
Most recent appearance: 2021, Chelsea 1-0 Man City
Inter
European Cup final record: P5 W3 L2 F7 A5
Most recent appearance: 2010, Inter 2-0 Bayern
What the coaches say
Josep Guardiola, Man City coach: “When you reach the final of the Champions League, you have to celebrate. A final against an Italian team is not always the best gift, honestly. Inter are competitive. After this [semi-final] victory there will be a lot of compliments, but we have time to prepare mentally.”
Simone Inzaghi, Inter coach: “For us it was a dream but we have always believed in it. I’m proud to be here. Nobody has given us anything, we deserve everything that we have achieved. And now the dream to play the final has come true. It has been an extraordinary path and winning a derby in the semi-final brought particular satisfaction.”
Where is the Champions League final?
Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium will host the final on Saturday 10 June 2023. Man City are the designated home team following a draw made for administrative purposes.
The winners gain a place in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.
© 1998-2023 UEFA. All rights reserved.Last updated: Thursday, June 8, 2023
Clint Dempsey on USMNT coach search: ‘I don’t think it’s good to go interim to interim’
By Pablo Maurer and Felipe CardenaJun 2, 2023
Former U.S. men’s national team star Clint Dempsey has offered his take on the ongoing search for the team’s next permanent head coach, telling The Athletic’s Pablo Maurer and Felipe Cárdenas that he believes the protracted search is not good for the team.
The USMNT is currently in a state of flux, with no permanent head coach in place since Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired in the new year while he was wrapped up in a complicated controversy involving the Reyna family. Anthony Hudson, a former assistant under Berhalter, coached the team on an interim basis until this week, when he left U.S. Soccer. The Athletic reported that Hudson left for a club job in the Middle East. Another former assistant with the team, B.J. Callaghan, will take charge of the team for the Nations League and Gold Cup tournaments this summer.
Clint Dempsey talks USMNT coaching, TST 7v7, Toronto FC situation and more
“I don’t think it’s good to go interim to interim, in my opinion,” Dempsey said. “I think it’s unfortunate the situation that happened with (former USMNT head coach Gregg) Berhalter. I think he’s still in line for the job and I think he did a great job at the World Cup…Jesse Marsch, obviously he’s done well in Europe. If you look at the teams at the World Cup that did well and got to the knockout rounds, I think it was 15 of the 16 teams were domestic coaches. So maybe it makes sense to have a domestic coach that understands what players are dealing with.”
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Dempsey, the USMNT’s joint-all-time leading goalscorer, was speaking at The Soccer Tournament, a 7-v-7 competition where he is coaching Team Dempsey. Asked for his thoughts on how the U.S. can build on its World Cup performance, Dempsey singled out new dual-national recruit Folarin Balogun.
“I think we were looking for that No. 9 (at the World Cup), I think maybe we got that now in Folarin Balogun,” Dempsey said. “We were one of the top teams in terms of the crosses that we got — maybe he’d have been the guy that got on the end of those. We’ll see what happens there.”
Indy looking for back-to-back wins Saturday Night
#INDvHFD Preview
Indy Eleven vs Hartford Athletic
Saturday, June 10, 2023 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Carroll Stadium – Indianapois, Ind.
Follow Live:
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Stats: #INDvHFD MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com
2023 USL Championship Records:
Indy Eleven: 4W-5L-3D (-1 GD), 15 pts; 7th in Eastern Conference
Hartford Atheltic: 2W-7L-3D (-9), 9 pts; 12th in Eastern Conference
Community Health Network Sports Medicine Indy Eleven Injury Report:
OUT: DF R. Dambrot (L knee), MF B. Rebellon (L hamstring), R. King (R quad), Y. Boudadi (L shoulder)
QUESTIONABLE: None
Discipline Report:
IND: none
HFD: none
SETTING THE SCENE
The Boys in Blue return to The Mike on Saturday to host eastern division foe Hartford Athletic at 7 p.m. Indy is coming off a 4-0 win over division leader Charleston and sits seventh in the eastern division at 4-5-3. The four goals against Charleston tie for the most in a USL Championship match for the club, having registered four on six occasions. Indy is looking for its first set of back-to-back wins this season.
Hartford is last in the division at 2-7-3 following a 0-0 draw vs. Louisville City.
SERIES VS. HARTFORD ATHLETIC
Friday marks the sixth meeting between the two sides with Indy holding the 3-2 all-time advantage. Saturday will be the first of two meetings between the two sides in 2023, with the second meeting taking place June 24 at Hartford.
Indy leads: 3-2
GF 8, GA 5
Recent Meetings
8.13.22 at HFD L, 2-1
4.30.22 Home W, 1-0
7.29.20 Home W, 4-1
Last Match
2022 USL Championship – Matchday 23
Hartford Athletic 2 : 1 Indy Eleven
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Trinity Health Stadium – Hartford, Conn.
Scoring Summary:
HFD – Danny Barrera (unassisted) 19’
HFD – Ariel Martinez (Prince Saydee) 26’
IND – Ayoze (penalty kick) 47+’
QUINN NAMED TO USL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM OF THE WEEK
JUNE 6, 2023
A pair of goals off penalty kicks in Friday’s 4-0 win over division-leading Charleston earned Aodhan Quinn USL Championship Team of the Week honors.
Just 19 seconds into the match, Sebastian Guenzatti earned the Eleven a chance from the spot setting up Quinn for his second penalty of the season. Quinn converted just 1:28 into the match, giving him the USL Championship’s fastest goal of the 2023 season and his second tally of the year. His team-leading third goal of the season came in the same fashion, this time thanks to a Charleston foul of Harrison Robledo. Quinn also converted on 74 of 81 passes and recorded two chances created.
This is the first honor of 2023 for Quinn, giving the Eleven its fifth player to earn a spot on the USL Team of the Week along with a pair of bench appearances.
LAST TIME OUT
JUNE 2, 2023
CHS 0:4 IND
Indy Eleven defeated USL Championship Eastern Conference leader Charleston on the road Friday night, 4-0.
Scoring Summary:
IND – Aodhan Quinn (pk) 2’
IND – Aodhan Quinn (pk) 72’
IND – Roberto Molina (Douglas Martinez) 75’
IND – Own Goal 80’
Discipline Summary:
CHS – Leland Archer (ejection) 1’
IND – Jesus Vazquez (caution) 8’
CHS – Deklan Wynne (caution) 29’
IND – Douglas Martinez (caution) 59’
IND – Gustavo Rissi (caution) 61’
CHS – Trey Muse (caution) 71’
CHS – Arthur Paterson (caution) 88’
INDY ACQUIRES MIDFIELDER SEBASTIAN VELASQUEZ
JUNE 8, 2023
Indy Eleven it has acquired midfielder Sebastian Velasquez via transfer from USL Championship side Memphis 901 FC. Per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Velasquez will be available for Indy’s match against Hartford Athletic Saturday.
Velasquez signed with Memphis on February 24, 2023 after three seasons (2019, 2021-22) in El Paso where he made 42 appearances for the Locomotive scoring a pair of goals and notching an assist. He spent the 2020 season with Miami FC. Velasquez is the second player to reunite with Indy Eleven Head Coach Mark Lowry this season, joining Macauley King who also played under him at El Paso for two seasons.
Since joining the USLC with Real Monarchs SLC in 2017, Velasquez has made 112 appearances with 28 goals and 18 assists.
The Colombian was signed by Real Salt Lake in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and played three seasons with the club before joining New York City FC for the 2015 campaign. He has 55 MLS caps, two goals and two assists.
| NWSL teams boast record crowds |
| DENNY MEDLEY/USA TODAY SPORTS NWSL game days are becoming a hot summer ticket. Gotham FC had a club-record 15,058 in attendance on Sunday evening.OL Reign took part in a doubleheader with the Seattle Sounders that drew over 42,000 fans.The KC Current fanbase is holding strong, with over 10,000 fans taking in the team’s second regular season win. |
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