- Inter Miami is now a global brand with Lionel Messi leading the team
- And the Herons will have an extremely busy preseason this year
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Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will travel a ridiculous amount of money this pre-season as the club looks to cash in on its new global profile.
The Herons became a household name with the signings of Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba last summer (and Luis Suarez this winter) and will embark on a tour of the Middle East and Asia ahead of the upcoming MLS season.
Now the distances Miami will travel have been revealed, as a video of Front office sports shows that the club will fly over 27,000 miles in just three weeks.
The pre-season trip begins with a flight to El Salvador to meet their national team on January 19, which FOS has calculated at 1,019 miles.
The team will then fly back to the US to take on FC Dallas in the Cotton Bowl (1,402 miles) on January 22 before continuing its journey to Saudi Arabia.
Lionel Messi will travel around the world this winter during his club’s preseason
The club has added Luis Suarez (left) alongside Messi (center) and Sergio Busquets (right)
The Herons face Al-Hilal on January 29 in Riyadh, a match that requires a 12,000-kilometre trek from Dallas.
Miami will then take on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on February 1, for which Miami will simply stay in Riyadh before flying 6,000 kilometers to Hong Kong.
There, Messi and his teammates will face a team of the Hong Kong Premier League’s best players on February 4.
The team will then fly 2,787 miles on February 7 to take on Vissel Kobe at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo before finally heading home.
The trip back to Miami requires another 12,000 miles of travel.
Inter Miami boss Tata Martino says he plans to rest 36-year-old Messi this year
Back in South Florida, the Herons will conduct one more pre-season test before the MLS season begins, while Messi reunites with his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys on February 15.
Real Salt Lake visits on February 21 to start the regular season.
Messi had an extremely busy season last year, as his July arrival in Florida during the Leagues Cup came amid his typical preparation for European schedule, with the team’s season running until November.
The attacker also had to miss several MLS matches due to a muscle injury.
However, Miami coach Tata Martino has said he will rest Messi this season.