A former Inter Miami striker has denied social media speculation that he was released by the MLS team so superstar Lionel Messi could take his shirt number.
Costa Rican international Ariel Lassiter departed DRV PNK Stadium for current club CF Montréal as a part of a swap deal that saw Kamal Miller move the other way in April. However, following the announcement that World Cup winner Messi would be signing for the Herons, social media users had speculated that the forward was moved on to accommodate the arrival of the iconic star.
The rumours stemmed from a post which was published on Twitter which was accompanied by a picture of Lassiter, alongside a caption that falsely suggested that the 28-year-old was unwilling to give up his shirt number in favour of the Argentinian winger. It read: "Apparently this guy didn't want to give away his number 10 shirt to Messi so the club terminated his contract."
