They might have to change the name from Broward to Barcelona County.
Inter Miami CF announced Thursday that another former Barcelona FC player, Jordi Alba, has joined the team. He reunites with Sergio Busquets and of course, Lionel Messi.
It just adds to the incredible buzz around this last-place team, which now has more social media followers than the other teams in South Florida, including the Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins. The ownership group expects its revenues to double this year. All that’s left is for the team to produce results on the pitch at Drv Pnk Stadium.
Messi’s teammates say they’ve already seen examples of Messi magic on the training ground.
“Multiple moments, to be honest, already, I think, that’s just what it is, you watch him on TV and I say the same thing, how did he do that? But that’s why he’s the goat, considered the greatest of all time, he does things you can’t explain,” said defender Deandre Yedlin.
Before Messi, Inter Miami had international star Gonzalo Higuain, who retired last season, and they still have Yedlin, who played several seasons in the English Premier League and played in the World Cup for the USA. He knows a quality player when he sees one.
“You know any time you add good players to a team it’s gonna add confidence, so I think that’s what those guys have done,” Yedlin said at a news conference this morning after a training session.
Of course, he was talking about Messi and Busquets, who also spoke at a news conference Thursday.
Busquets said he’s happy to be reunited with Messi, but says he came here to get out of his comfort zone in Barcelona and to have a new challenge at this stage of his career.
Yedlin sees similarities between Messi’s arrival and David Beckham’s move to MLS in 2007.
“I remember being young and Beckham came to the league, obviously I was already into soccer but it inspires you a little bit more, maybe I can play with these players,” Yedlin said.
There’s no doubt Messi will inspire the next generation. Yedlin said he’s impressed his teammates as a regular guy.
“He’s been great, he’s got a great attitude, very positive, talks to everybody, no one really knows what to expect but he’s been ready to go to work so far so that’s been good,” Yedlin said.
In another measure of Messi’s effort to ingratiate himself with his teammates, Yedlin said he immediately joined the players-only group chat.
Head coach Tata Martino said Thursday he wasn’t sure if Messi and Busquets would start Friday night’s League Cup game against Mexican side Cruz Azul.
It’s officially sold out, but tickets are available on the secondary market for around $200.
