Lionel Messi got down to business with his new Inter Miami team-mates on Tuesday, taking part in his first full training session with the Major League Soccer club.The Argentine World Cup winner took to the club’s training field at 9:00am local time with temperatures already above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).Along with his former Barcelona team-mate, Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, who signed for Miami on Sunday, Messi was given a ‘tunnel’ welcome from his new team.The work starts now 😤💪 pic.twitter.com/oekDgfqBPy— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 18, 2023 The players lined up opposite each other and Messi and Busquets ran through the ‘tunnel’ to applause and slaps on the back from the other players.Chatting with Venezuelan international Josef Martinez, likely to be his strike partner for Miami, Messi was watched by over 200 media representatives who had attended the session as he did some basic drills.Miami’s training sessions had barely attracted double figure attendance from the media prior to Messi’s arrival.Caption this ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5JC7GQXStW— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 18, 2023 Messi had been unveiled to the club’s supporters at the stadium on Sunday at a celebratory event alongside Miami co-owner David Beckham and his first game is scheduled for Friday.Miami, who are ranked last in the 29-team MLS, face Mexican club Cruz Azul in the opening game of the new Leagues Cup, a tournament style competition featuring all top-flight teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.It is not clear yet if Messi will start that game or make a cameo appearance from the substitute’s bench and his coach, fellow Argentine Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has asked for patience while the 36-year-old builds up his fitness.##NAJAVA_MECA_7377803##After watching his side’s winless streak extend to 11 games, the recently appointed Martino left open the possibility that Messi might not be ready to go just yet.”We look to the future with hope (given) that the best player in the world will play for our team, but also with the patience that we have to have so that he can get in good physical shape and can play at the right moment,” he said.Messi played his last competitive game for Paris Saint-Germain in the French league on June 4 and then turned out for Argentina against Australia in a friendly in Beijing on June 15, scoring after just 79 seconds in a 2-0 win.Mwendwa reiterates FKF’s support for grassroot football as Chapa Dimba makes headwayUnlike in most of Europe, MLS’s season runs from late February to the end of October, followed by the playoffs and the championship game, MLS Cup, on December 9.Despite sitting rock bottom of the Eastern Conference with the worst recording in the league, Miami are not mathematically ruled out of contention for the playoffs but it would take a huge impact from the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner to turn their season around.Messi is the biggest star to join an American club since Brazilian legend Pele moved to the New York Cosmos in 1975.MLS hope that his presence will massively boost interest in the league, which features clubs from the USA and Canada, and generate fresh revenue for their broadcast deal with Apple TV.World Rugby launch new 7s format starting 23/24 seasonMLS’s 10-year deal with Apple TV, worth a reported $2.5 billion, will allow fans in 107 countries to watch Messi in action via a subscription.On Sunday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the league, which is already broadcast in Spanish and with some games in French, was considering introducing other languages to broaden the appeal of the broadcasts and cash in on interest in Messi.”I think you’ll see more and more multiple languages on Apple. That’s the uniqueness of the technology. We’re looking at launching other languages as early as next year,” he said.Reporting to first day of training 👋 pic.twitter.com/eetY7vMseu— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 18, 2023 “I think there will be more opportunity for us to be very, very targeted to specific audiences,” he said.© Agence France-Presse
