‘We have to make the playoffs’: What Lionel Messi told best pal Sergio Aguero about Inter Miami
‘We need to make the playoffs’: What Lionel Messi told his best friend Sergio Aguero after getting a screenshot of Inter Miami on MLS’ BOTTOM
- Lionel Messi announced on Wednesday that he plans to move to Inter Miami
- But the club faces an uphill battle to make it to the postseason, even if he joins
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami is not yet sealed, but his close friend and former team-mate Sergio Aguero is already telling him about his prospective team’s performance this season.
Despite reaching the semifinals of the US Open Cup on Wednesday night, Miami has struggled in 16 games in the league so far this MLS season.
The club is currently last in the Eastern Conference with only 15 points and 11 losses out of five wins.
And Agüero knows that Messi is in for a tough race to get Miami into the postseason, tellingly ESPN Argentina“I spoke to Messi yesterday, I messaged him with a screenshot of the Eastern Conference standings and I said, ‘Your team is behind! You need to move up to 8/9!”
Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero celebrate Argentina winning the World Cup last year
The two are close friends and were teammates in Argentina for many years before Agüero retired
Inter Miami is owned by David Beckham, who also successfully moved to the MLS, joining LA Galaxy in the summer of 2007
Messi burst out laughing. He said, ‘We’ve got to make the playoffs!’
Under the new playoff format in MLS, the top seven teams from each conference qualify for the first round of the playoffs, while the eighth and ninth seed advance to a wild card game.
Miami is currently six points behind ninth-placed Charlotte FC, with one game left to play.
Messi’s Miami debut is scheduled for July 21 in the Leagues Cup vs. Liga MX side Cruz Azul, leaving about a third of the MLS season to play.
Miami has 12 league matches after the date with Cruz Azul.
Aguero, meanwhile, added that he thought Messi would arrive “mid-July”.
Regardless of when the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner arrives, the arrival of Messi will be a milestone for MLS, who issued a statement on Wednesday after confirming the star’s move to Mundo Deportivo.
Sergio Busquets has reportedly held talks with Inter Miami and could join Messi in MLS
“We are pleased that Lionel Messi has declared his intention to join Inter Miami CF and Major League Soccer this summer,” the association said.
“While there is still work to be done to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest footballers of all time to our league.”
And Miami could welcome more than just Messi this summer.
According to ESPNthe club has also held talks with his ex-Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets about a move.