It’s fair to say Lionel Messi enjoyed his final game of 2023 with Argentina.
The world champions renewed their bitter rivalry with fellow South American giants Brazil, travelling to Rio de Janeiro in a 2026 World Cup qualifier. Chaos in the crowd caused the game to be delayed, but Argentina eventually ran out 1-0 winners at the Maracana thanks to Nicolas Otamendi’s second-half goal.
Messi captained Argentina in a memorable evening, inflicting more misery on their fierce foes as they took a big step towards qualification themselves for the next World Cup.
But with his Argentina duties done and dusted for the year, when is Inter Miami star Messi next in action?
With Argentina not playing again until 2024, Messi faces a break from national team duties for the next few months. However, the 36-year-old will also be out of action for his club side Inter Miami.
That’s because the Major League Soccer outfit didn’t qualify for the post-season play-offs, meaning their campaign is over. Messi donned the pink shirt for the final time this season during a friendly with New York City FC before the international break, a game his side lost 2-1.
With the new 2024 MLS season not set to begin until late February or early March next year, Messi now faces some time off in which he can rest and recover ahead of the new campaign.
The Argentinian forward is bound to play some pre-season friendlies before the new MLS season begins next year. However, these matches won’t take place until 2024, giving Messi a potential break of around two months without football.
Messi and his Inter Miami teammates had been meant to play some off-season friendlies on a tour of China in November as they looked to grow their global brand, but that trip was cancelled at short notice.
As he now faces an extended period without football, there had been rumblings that Messi may make a short-term loan move to Europe to keep his fitness levels up during Inter Miami‘s off-season.
There were even speculative rumours touting him with a move back to Barcelona for a couple of months, although those have since been quashed.
Messi will not make a brief return to Europe during his time off, instead staying in Miami to focus on his preparations for the new campaign.
There had been claims over the past days that Messi would face off against his long-standing adversary Cristiano Ronaldo in a meeting between Inter Miami and Al Nassr in a friendly tournament.
The potential encounter had been labelled ‘The Last Dance’ and it was suggested that the event would take place as part of the Riyadh Season Cup that would also include Al Hilal.
However, Inter Miami have denied that any such match will take place, describing the claims as “inaccurate”.
An Inter Miami statement read: “Earlier today, an announcement was issued stating that Inter Miami CF is scheduled to play in the Riyadh Season Cup. This is inaccurate.
“The release included statements attributed to team owner Jorge Mas. Mas has made no comments, publicly or privately, in relation to the pre-season tour.
“Since day one, Inter Miami CF has set out to be a global brand. To this end, we have been in conversations to determine our 2024 preseason schedule.
“We look forward to showcasing our players on Inter Miami CF’s first international tour which will be announced in the coming weeks.”
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