Inter Miami ended their winless run in pre-season with a 4-1 victory against Hong Kong XI, though Lionel Messi did not feature for the Herons.
Having only played 10 minutes against Al-Nassr earlier in the week, the Argentine international was completely rested today as Luis Suarez also didn’t feature for Inter Miami.
Despite being the star of the show, Tata Martino made the decision to fully rest Messi, with the 36-year-old already starting three games for Inter Miami in pre-season.
Yet as per commentator Nate Bukaty on Apple TV’s coverage of the fixture, Messi had a pained look on his face whenever chants from the 40,000 fans at the fixture called for the forward to come on.
Indeed, the majority of supporters coming out to watch Inter Miami are there to see Messi in person, and the Argentine seemed upset that he couldn’t give the people what he wanted.
Bukaty said: “You can see the look on Messi’s face as the chants for him to come on ring out, it pains him to not perform wherever he is for his fans regardless of where he’s playing.”
Inter Miami made the right call resting Lionel Messi vs. Hong Kong
For many Hong Kong fans, today will go down as a major disappointment with Messi failing to dress despite this fixture being built up as a chance to see the former FC Barcelona star in the flesh.
Yet for Inter Miami, resting Messi was the right idea given how much soccer the veteran attacker has played already this pre-season.
As we know, the main goal for the Herons this winter is to get their star player into top shape and to ensure nobody picks up injuries heading into the 2024 MLS season.
And whilst Messi not playing is a shame, Inter Miami have to put their players’ welfare first, and the Florida side did the right thing today with the captain.