INTER MIAMI coach Javier Mascherano believes Lionel Messi’s difficult stint at Paris Saint-Germain could motivate him ahead of their Club World Cup clash. Miami, surprise qualifiers from Group A, now face the European champions in Atlanta on Sunday.
Messi joined Miami after two underwhelming seasons at PSG, where he admitted struggling to adapt. “I spent two years that I didn’t enjoy. I wasn’t happy on a day-to-day basis,“ Messi said. Mascherano hopes those memories will push the Argentine superstar. “It’s clear that it would better for us if he was angry,“ he told ESPN.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will encounter a transformed PSG under Luis Enrique, who coached Messi and several Miami players at Barcelona. Left-back Jordi Alba praised Enrique, calling him “the best” in man-management. “I’ll give him a hug, but when the ref blows the whistle, we’ll try to beat him,“ Alba said.
Luis Suarez, another former Barcelona star, credited Enrique for shaping his career. “He taught me how to adapt to new roles,“ Suarez said. Mascherano, meanwhile, acknowledged his friendship with Enrique but emphasized Miami’s underdog mentality. “We need a perfect game to have a chance,“ he said.
