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Lionel Messi's presence in the Inter Miami squad may not help them much in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, his teammate Sergio Busquets believes. Speaking to DAZN (via Goal), Busquets mentioned that it was going to be tough for them at the prestigious tournament as Miami haven't yet matched the level of the other participating clubs.
“It’s clear that we’re not at the level to compete in the Club World Cup. But we’ll try to compete in the group, take it game by game, fight, and hopefully move on to the next round, although it’s going to be tough,” said Busquets.
Messi has won the Club World Cup thrice with Barcelona, and will be keen on adding a fourth title to his well-adorned hat. With the tournament slated to start on June 14, Messi's minutes have been taken care of by Miami so far this season. He has played 14 matches across all competitions so far, scoring nine goals.
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Busquets, whose arrival in the United States of America had a lot to do with Messi's presence at Inter Miami, will be responsible for handling the side's midfield. Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba are two other ex-Barcelona players who currently ply their trade for Inter Miami, convinced by Messi's mere name.
Lionel Messi was recently credited for turning Inter Miami into the 'Real Madrid' of MLS
Recently, former Inter Miami attacker Josef Martinez made headlines by claiming that Lionel Messi had turned the club into the 'Real Madrid' of the MLS almost overnight. As per reports, Martinez mentioned that Messi's presence has made Inter Miami a global club, with several fans tuning into their games.
"When I joined Inter Miami, it was El Combate [The Combat] FC. When it became official (Messi’s signing), it went from being the worst team in MLS to the Real Madrid of MLS," said Martinez.
"Before Messi’s first training session, not even people on Instagram knew us, not even the club’s own journalists came. That was the first time I met my godfather, and people who didn’t even know I existed were writing to me. Outside, there were 1,000 journalists - when before, we had seen maybe one. And there were 50,000 people at the first training session. It changed overnight," he added.
Lionel Messi has won the Leagues Cup with Miami after moving to the club in 2023. He made his name at Barcelona, where he won 10 La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies, among others. At Paris Saint-Germain, his former club, he won the Ligue 1 twice.
The Club World Cup will feature the best clubs in the world across all continents. Lionel Messi's Miami have been placed alongside Al Ahly, FC Porto and Palmeiras in Group A of the tournament. Each team will play three games in the group stage before the tournament moves on to the round of sixteen phase.
