Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed on Wednesday that star Lionel Messi deserves to move to Inter Miami, as the world champions prepare for a friendly match against Australia in Beijing.
And the Argentine captain announced last week that he would join the American League instead of returning to Barcelona, Spain, after the expiration of his two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain, the French champion.
“I am very happy that he decided to go and play for a club in a city that will treat him very well,” Scaloni told a press conference in the Chinese capital before the friendly match.
He added, “Regardless of the league or the country, the important thing is that he feels good in the city and in the club,” stressing, “I think he will have the conditions to enjoy. He deserves it.”
Messi revealed in an interview with the Chinese newspaper “Titan Sports” on Tuesday that the World Cup in Qatar, which was held last year, may be the last in his career.
The little “flea”, who was crowned with the Golden Ball for the best player in the world 7 times, will be 39 years old during the next World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“I have said several times before that I do not think so, that the World Cup (2022) was my last tournament,” the Barcelona glories maker said when asked if he would participate in the 2026 World Cup.
For his part, Scaloni said that Messi’s statement “seems very wise to me” and “he is a man who does not lie, and the truth is that we will see how he feels.”
And he added, “The World Cup is so far away that it does not make sense to think beyond that.”
The Argentine national team and its Australian counterpart will meet in a friendly match on Thursday at the Workers’ Stadium, which can accommodate about 68,000 spectators, in a repeat of the Qatar World Cup final price match, where Messi scored one of the two goals in the victory over the “Soceros” team 2-1, on his way to winning the third star for his country by defeating France by kicks. Penalty in the final.
