Lionel Messi shocked the footballing world when he announced that he would be signing for Inter Miami once his PSG contract expired, rather than return to Barcelona or take up a lucrative offer presented by Saudi Arabia.
The clamour for his arrival in the MLS has reached fever pitch in the days and week since the announcement, despite the Argentine joining the side rock bottom of the Eastern Conference in America. Despite that, Messi says he is looking forward to rediscovering his love of football again at the club co-owned by David Beckham.
Inter Miami team line-up announcements are already being bombarded with questions asking "where's Messi?", though, highlighting America's desire to witness his brilliance first-hand.
So when will Lionel Messi make his Inter Miami debut? FourFourTwo takes a look at everything known so far below.
When will Lionel Messi make his Inter Miami debut?
Messi is still contracted to PSG until June 30, meaning he doesn't actually officially become an Inter Miami player until the first day of July. He wouldn't have been able to play for them anyway, with Argentina playing Australia and Indonesia in international friendlies in mid-June.
Messi will be 36-years-old by the time he's eligible to play his first Inter Miami match, with his birthday in June.
Inter Miami have four MLS games to play in July, though, all of which Messi would be eligible to play in. However, after starting his 2022/23 campaign with PSG in the first week of August, playing every game in Qatar on the way to winning the World Cup, and only finishing in France on June 3, it's inevitable Messi will require a break for a few weeks.
Therefore, reports are suggesting he'll miss those games, with Inter Miami's home game against Charlotte on August 21 the likely first MLS game of his career. The all-new Leagues Cup home game against Cruz Azul on July 21 could be his first outing in an Inter Miami shirt, though, with the month-long tournament contested by every teams from MLS and Liga MX providing a useful opportunity for Messi to make his debut.
However, there is a possibility that Messi plays his first game as a contracted Inter Miami player in the MLS All-Star game against Arsenal on July 19, before pulling on the pink strip of the Florida-based team.
Played at the Audi Field in Washington, the MLS All-Stars will be managed by Wayne Rooney and could feature Messi for a few minutes in order to further increase the hype surrounding his debut for Inter Miami.
Something similar happened with Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, with the Portuguese forward playing for Riyadh All Stars XI, comprised of footballers from Al-Nassr and Al Hilal, against Messi's PSG in an exhibition game. The match finished 5-4, with both finding the net.
In total, Inter Miami have 12 MLS games remaining, concluding with an away trip to Charlotte, while progression in the Leagues Cup depends on their result against Cruz Azul. They also play Cincinnati in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup in August.
