Fort Lauderdale’s league chase will briefly make room for Oviedo. Lionel Messi is set to leave Inter Miami training after the club’s next MLS match to collect the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, an honour announced for him in June.
Inter Miami coach Kily González has confirmed that the Argentine forward will make the trip to Spain with the club’s agreement, despite Miami being deeply involved in the contest for the MLS title.
Messi’s short Spanish trip
- Messi will first be available for Inter Miami’s match against Atlanta United, scheduled for the early hours of Saturday.
- After that fixture, he will travel to Oviedo for the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony.
- The forward will take a short break from team training while fulfilling the commitment in Spain.
- He is expected back in time to face New York Red Bulls on 24 October.
A prize for Messi and his family
González said the club fully supports Messi’s decision to attend an occasion he described as highly significant both for the player and those close to him.
“He has this commitment and I like the way he is taking it on,” González said. “The club completely agrees that he should go, because it is an enormously important award, not only for him but for his family.”
Miami will therefore have Messi for the Atlanta contest before releasing him for the journey across the Atlantic. González also underlined that he expects to call on the former Barcelona forward again against New York Red Bulls, with every point carrying weight in the MLS run-in.
