Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from the Argentina national team, ending a 21-year international career. It is news that has been on every back page in the world, but it matters here specifically because Messi is still part of the Inter Miami squad that is playing Major League Soccer matches.
He broke the news himself on social media, thanking Argentina for ’20 years’ of support and saying that it was time to let a new generation of players take over. The timing wasn’t a coincidence, with his father and long-time agent, Jorge Messi, having died last month.
So what does Argentina losing Messi change for Inter Miami and the rest of MLS?
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The MLS Never Stops for Internationals
If you’re coming from Europe, this will sound more than a little bit odd, given the idea that all top-flight leagues ground to a halt when international breaks come around. FIFA obliges every club, including those that play in the MLS, to release players for official international windows, whether the club likes it or not. In England or Spain, that tends not to make a huge difference on account of the fact that the season pauses for the summer tournaments anyway and no Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga or other top league football is played during the international break.
@absolutelmessi10z Messi announced his retirement from Argentina and International Football…Thanks for everything,Leo.❤️ | #messi #retirement #argentina #messi14minedit #foreveryoung ♬ original sound – live365football
Meanwhile, the MLS runs from February through to the play-offs in December, meaning that a World Cup or a Copa América is likely to take place right in the middle of the campaign. That doesn’t make any difference, however, on account of the fact that clubs simply play on short-handed. Inter Miami have felt that more than most ever since Lionel Messi signed for the club. The undisputed ‘Greatest of All Time’ has missed MLS games whilst on Argentina duty before, and this summer he led his country all the way to the World Cup final before losing 1-0 to Spain.
What This Means For Miami’s Run To The Play-Offs
The good news for Inter Miami is that the loss of Messi to international fixtures will no longer have an impact on their MLS campaign. Messi will stay on as Miami’s most important player, both on the pitch and off it. He is contracted until the end of the 2028 campaign and from here on he won’t vanish mid-season for a Copa América or a World Cup qualifier anymore. Miami currently sit second in the Eastern Conference, ten points behind Nashville, having taken 42 points from the 66 available.
A fully available Messi for the run-in, and presumably the play-offs after that, is good news. In fact, it is about as good a boost as a title challenge gets this late in the year, bar the signing of a top-class player or two. If Miami go on to win the Shield, or better, this could be the season that Messi’s retirement from Argentina played perfectly into his domestic team’s hands.