Inter Miami took advantage of not making the Major League Soccer playoffs by signing a deal to play two exhibitions in China next month.
The club will play a pair of friendlies against Chinese Super League teams next month after being eliminated from MLS playoff contentionLionel Messi is evidently going back to China, after Inter Miami took advantage of not making the Major League Soccer playoffs by signing a deal to play two exhibitions there next month.
Inter Miami's announcement of the deal did not specifically mention Messi or any other player, though it would be surprising if Chinese officials agreed to the games without some sort of guarantee that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner and the team's other best-known standouts — Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba among them — would be making the trip if physically able.
Messi has played in China as recently as this past June, shortly after he stunned much of the soccer world by announcing that he was signing a 2 1/2-year contract worth around $150 million to come to MLS and play for Inter Miami. He scored barely one minute into a match for Argentina against Australia in Beijing on June 15, and later was surprised by fan — one wearing a Messi jersey — somehow getting onto the field to ask for a hug.
That suggests this trip could be another major financial win for Inter Miami. MLS officials said Messi's jersey has been the league's top seller in 2023 — even though it wasn't on sale until July — and the team has told its season ticket holders that it plans to increase prices dramatically for the 2024 season.
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