Lionel Messi’s Presence Confirmed For Friendly vs. El Salvador; Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba & Sergio Busquets to Feature For Inter Miami

The MLS season starts in February and Inter Miami has a packed pre-season to get up to full speed. They will be facing teams like FC Dallas, Vissel Kobe, EL Salvador, and Saudi side Al Nassr as well. The match against the El Salvador national team is the first in line and fans are quite excited as Lionel Messi‘s participation has been confirmed! While he has always been an ideal team man, this also could be a clause of his special contract. Nevertheless, there’s a lot at stake for the Herons this season and Messi will want to be on top of every game.

The game against Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. on February 1 is a huge matter of discussion and debate causing a frenzy. Dubbed the ‘last dance‘, this is expected to be the final faceoff between the legendary duo. While that’s still a few weeks away, here are the vital details that you need to know before Messi and Co. face El Salvador.

Ex-Barcelona treble-winning quartet will travel for the El Salvador game!

Inter Miami is set to take on El Salvador on January 19. The presence of Lionel Messi in the game has been confirmed by journalist Gaston Edul. Here’s what he tweeted, just hours ago. He wrote, “Messi, Suarez, Jordi, Busquets, and the entire Inter Miami squad will travel.” It seems Inter Miami wants to line up with all of their big-hitters. This could be a result of a contractual obligation rather than a choice. However, Coach Tata Martino’s most recent presser didn’t seem that way and it seemed he was waiting on the fitness reports.

He confirmed that the team was obliged to field his ‘best‘ players in select games. He had said, “Afterwards we will see how they are physically, if they will be there or not. But we understand that the contractual part requires the presence of our best players.” The presence of Lionel Messi is exciting not just for the 50,000+ fans expected to turn up at Estadio Cuscatlan but also for the opposition’s soccer players as well. In fact, one Salvador player has a ‘Lionel Messi dream’ that he intends to fulfill.

El Salvador star reveals his wish ahead of tattooing a Messi autograph!

Alejandro Henriquez, the 21-year-old, is a big Lionel Messi fan. He plans to get his leg autographed by the Inter Miami star. He explained, “I will show him my tattoo and I hope he can autograph my leg, to turn it into a tattoo.” The youngster also revealed that he has a tattoo of the soccer icon lifting the FIFA World Cup as well.

Read More: Boca Juniors to Postpone Season Debut to Play Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in a Friendly: Reports

Henriquez is yet to feature for the national side. There is no assurance that he will be called up for the game against Inter Miami. Yet, he seems determined to get that autograph even if it means attending the game in the audience. As per Henriquez, “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to be at that game. Even if in the end I have to borrow to get a ticket.” 

Will Henriquez fulfill his dream? Tell us in the comments below.

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