MIAMI — DeAndre Yedlin held out his hands and gestured to the crowd surrounding him before Inter Miami CF practiced on a rainy, sticky Florida morning Thursday. It was impossible for the American right back not to laugh and marvel at how things have changed in South Florida in the past couple of weeks, since the rumors of Lionel Messi’s impending arrival finally officially became a reality Saturday.
More security guards are stationed around DRV PNK Stadium and the surrounding practice fields. Reporters now come to training in droves, from across the country and even continents away, just to watch Messi run around for 15 minutes with his new team. Inter Miami, in the span of about a week, has gone from being the worst team in Major League Soccer to the center of the sports world.
“Obviously, it’s a big difference,” Yedlin said. “The best player to ever play the game is here. ... It just feels like the city’s got a bit of a buzz to it now.
