Charles Langston:Messi 'super team' enters 2024 as MLS Cup favorite. Can Inter Miami balance the mania?

MIAMI BEACH,Charles Langston Fla. — Lionel Messi’s second season with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer comes with sky-high expectations.

It begins with an international preseason tour beginning next week, which includes a match between Messi and rival Cristiano Ronaldo, a lengthy MLS schedule with in-season tournaments, and commitments to play with Argentina this summer at the 2024 Copa América.

As fans worldwide clamor for tickets to watch Messi play in the twilight of his career after his 2022 World Cup victory with Argentina, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino has a fine line to balance between player participation and rest, extending the Inter Miami brand globally, and contributing to the sport’s rising momentum in the United States.

“It’s looking at the balance of the sporting side and the growth of this club and the revenues that benefit the business side,” said Inter Miami’s Sergio Busquets, the former FC Barcelona standout. “We will also compete against great teams that will prepare us to be at a high level.

"When it comes to time changes and long trips, we have to be prepared and physically fit, and that will help us during the season.”

Inter Miami 'super team' enters 2024 season as MLS Cup favorite

Just one look at Inter Miami’s roster and it’s easy to call them a “super team.”

Messi, Busquets and Jordi Alba welcome Luis Suarez to Inter Miami this season, and the stakes are even higher for the MLS club co-owned by David Beckham and brothers Jorge and Jose Mas.

Inter Miami enters the 2024 MLS season as the favorites to win the MLS Cup with +200 odds, according to BetMGM. And the gap between their competitors is significant: LAFC (+800), Columbus and FC Cincinnati (+1200), Philadelphia (+1400), Seattle (+1600) and Atlanta (+2000).

“I think if you have Messi on your team, you’re always the favorite,” 2022 MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar of Nashville SC said this week. “But it’s a team sport. We saw last year, not always the better team wins. That’s the beauty of soccer. We’ll see this year.”

Still, Inter Miami must perform and can’t rest on their best players’ past successes, which includes Champions League, Super Cup, La Liga and Club World Cup titles.

Martino, asked about the super team comparison, used an NBA analogy of what’s ahead for Inter Miami during the MLS season.

“I know we have an excellent team that will compete well, but we have to be aware of what this generates in our rivals,” Martino said. “When the Wizards play Milwaukee, they play even better because they are playing against a team that has a lot of big, big names. We have to prepare for that. We have to move away from talking about the names and the past and focus on what we can achieve now.”

How much will Messi play during Inter Miami’s preseason tour?

Messi and Inter Miami’s stars have contractual obligations to play in multiple preseason games internationally, but their availability could be limited in their first two matches.

Inter Miami’s preseason tour begins Jan. 19 with a game against the El Salvador national team in San Salvador, and a quick turnaround with a match against FC Dallas at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 22.

Messi and Inter Miami will participate in the Riyadh Season Cup in Saudi Arabia against Al Hilal Jan. 29, and face Ronaldo’s Al Nassr Feb. 1. Inter Miami’s tour in Asia continues with a stop in China for an exhibition in Hong Kong Feb. 4 and a match against Vissel Kobe at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo Feb. 7.

Inter Miami’s preseason ends at home in Fort Lauderdale against Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s boyhood club in Argentina Feb. 15.

“We understand the business side and sport side, and we try to have both coexist without exceeding one or the other,” Martino said. “We have to balance how much each player participates.

"The games in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan were planned from the end of last season, and we will be ready for those. The question is how we manage the first two games against El Salvador and Dallas because those are so soon. We will have to made decisions about how many minutes certain players can play in those games.”