The majority of the football world is still coming to terms with Lionel Messi’s impending move to Inter Miami. After it was confirmed that he would be leaving PSG following the expiration of his contract with them at the end of June, the general feeling was that he’d make a homecoming to Barcelona.
With Barca having clinched the La Liga title and built a really strong side, many felt that Leo could potentially have his ‘last dance’ with his childhood club. But then came the twist that left many stunned. Messi announced his decision to join the MLS side instead, pulling an end to a near-two-decade stay at the top of European football.
While the football world still comes to terms with this agreement, there are many who are now eagerly looking forward to how Leo will be gracing the MLS club going forward. The NBA world seems to be totally excited at the prospect of seeing him compete in Miami and get more eyes towards not just the club, but the city as well.
When it comes to Messi’s devoted fanbase, they will follow him to the end of the earth despite being slightly bummed out with the decision he’s made over his future. Inter Miami have already seen its social media accounts get a huge boost in followers, with its Instagram account rising from one million followers to over seven million in the space of a few days.
It’s quite clear that wherever Messi opts to play, a large chunk of his fanbase will soon follow suit to watch him in action. His supporters have already started to create Inter Miami fan clubs online as well as buy jerseys for the MLS club as well.
One particular Messi fan, however, has taken things to a whole new level when it comes to learning more about Inter Mami and its history. The supporter posed a number of hilarious questions which only someone with no idea of the MLS club or the league itself would do.
The supporter asked a set of questions on the sub-Reddit account for Inter Miami, which is mostly used by their supporters to discuss matches, transfers and more. One specific question has helped the fan go viral on social media, as they asked ‘Is there an AC Miami?’
This is in reference to Serie A clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan, who are two of the most coveted Italian clubs around and share a lengthy rivalry with each other as they represent the two sides of Milan. The answer for that is that no, there is no AC Miami in the MLS or anywhere else.
That is because the actual name of Inter Miami CF is Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami. David Beckham & co created a more marketable nickname of Inter Miami to help it get recognized around the USA and the country. Inter Miami actually share no partnerships with Inter Milan and has irked the Italian giants over the usage of their name.
The Serie A heavyweights even filed a trademark dispute case against them for using their name – to which Beckham’s side stated that the name ‘Inter’ was actually generic and being used by many other clubs around the world. This legal case went on for many years and there is still friction between the Milan club and Inter Miami over this.
There were a few more general questions posed by the Messi supporter, which includes the reason behind there being two conferences in the MLS. The reason behind that is that the USA is actually a vast country, hence the organizers felt best to separate the 29 teams geographically to the Western and Eastern Conferences – where every team plays 34 games.
When it comes to questions about Inter Miami’s history, they have a pretty short history and have only played in four MLS campaigns so far since the 2019/20 campaign. The fan also asked why Inter Miami is currently in last (15th) place in the MLS Eastern Conference – which is due to a poor start to the season that has seen them lose 11 of their 16 matches so far and forced the management to sack ex-manager Phil Neville.
The supporter also asks about who Inter Miami hate (or shares a rivalry with). That would be Orlando City SC – currently their closest neighbours and the only other Florida-based team in the MLS. They also have a rivalry with USL (United Soccer League) side Miami FC – with the rivalry known as the ‘Miami Clasico’.
The reason behind Inter Miami having a pink home jersey is allegedly due to their fans. The club held surveys with supporters in Miami, who overwhelmingly wanted a pink jersey. Moreover, Beckham and majority owner Jorge Mas also wanted pink, hence the club went with that.
Messi will probably need to be filled with all this information about his new club because he’s unlikely to know much about them. He’ll also probably need to work on learning how to speak English more fluently, all while trying to help Inter go from zero to heroes in the MLS and improving the exposure of football/soccer in the USA.