Lionel Messi confirmed that his expectations with his team Inter Miami at the 2025 Club World Cup are different from his expectations when he was previously competing with other teams, but he is still keen to perform well among the best teams in the world.
Despite his victory in all possible titles, if he was with his former team Barcelona and Paris Saint -Germain, or his country, with whom he won the most important possible thing in the march of any player, that is, the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, Messi did not lose anything from his thirst for more.
Hours prior to the beginning of his career and team Inter Miami against Al -Ahly (at dawn on Sunday) in the first round of the first group of the new formula of the World Cup clubs with the participation of 32 teams, Messi told the International Football Association’s website that it is “an interesting competition. It is exciting to get an opportunity to be part of it.”
“My expectations differ from those that I had when I was playing with other teams, but I am excited and I look forward to the competition against the best teams and provide good performance,” the 37 -year -old continued.
And after he defended the colors of Barcelona from an early age, until he played with the first team from 2004 to 2021 on his way to win the Spanish League title 10 times and the Champions League 4 times and the Club World Cup 3 times from many other titles, Messi left the Catalan giant and joined Saint -Germain before he was in the American League in 2023 to lead Inter Miami to be the best team in the regular season in 2024 with 74 record points, which is He was allowed to be present in the World Cup.
Messi expected that the World Cup clubs will attract the American fans in the tournament that will last until July 13, adding, “I think there is huge teams coming from all over the world, and this attracts many people everywhere. We are talking about great teams, which includes very important players that people like to watch.”
He believed that it was “a great opportunity to see the best players playing here in the United States,” considering that facing the best teams from Europe and South America is a great opportunity … a really great experience for players on the field and fans in the stands. “
The position of Inter Miami coach, his compatriot Javier Mascherano, was not different from the winner of the Golden Ball for the best player in the world 8 times, as he said, “We will definitely run the most important championship in the history of our club (which was established in 2018) and this is an honor for us and a great opportunity to test our capabilities and know our level.” Responsibility.
Regarding Al -Ahly’s confrontation in the first test in the group that includes Portuguese Porto and Brazilian Mires, Mascherano said, “It is one of the largest teams in Africa, and he recently contracted with 5 or 6 players for the World Cup, and this is what we were unable to do … It is a strong physical team, and includes distinguished players, especially in the midfield and attack.”
He continued, “But our plan … to try to prevent their best players from playing a leadership role in this match, and to surpass the opponent if we want to get an opportunity to achieve a good result.”