The new Major League Soccer season is set to get under way in North America with the spotlight shining brightly on one man: Lionel Messi.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain joined David Beckham’s MLS club, Inter Miami, in the middle of the US’s regular football season last year and delivered instant results.
The club won the first match Messi played after a streak of 10 winless games and, what’s more, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner landed the side its first trophy – the Leagues Cup.
Messi and his former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, have transformed the team in a matter of months.
Now, with Messi fully established as the centrepiece and playing his first full campaign for the club’s fourth year of existence, Miami will be eyeing the big prize: a first MLS Cup.
The 29-team championship gets under way on February 22, when Miami host Salt Lake City at the DRK PNV Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
