Messi, Inter Miami end preseason with 1-1 tie vs. his childhood club Newell’s Old Boys

Rosario, Argentina is 4,260 miles from Fort Lauderdale, but for at least a few hours Thursday night, Lionel Messi must have felt like he was back in his hometown as Inter Miami tied Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s childhood club, 1-1 in Miami’s final preseason game.

Newell’s is also the hometown team of Inter Miami coach Tata Martino, who was a legend for the Argentine club back in the day and went on to coach the team.

A large section of Newell’s fans in red and black striped shirts gave Messi a warm welcome from the south stands of DRV PNK Stadium and roared each time he made an outstanding play. But their hearts were also with their team, and they showed it with deafening cheers when F.M. Diaz scored the equalizer for the visitors in the 86^th minute.

Miami had taken the lead in the 64^th minute on a leaping, angled header at the back post by 6-5 Haitian American forward Shanyder Borgelin, a native of North Lauderdale. Borgelin had just come in as a sub replacing Messi, who started and exited after 60 minutes to a standing ovation from the crowd of 18,971.

“It was a great moment, a déjà vu moment; I remember last year at this time, it was the same situation where I came in and my role was to make an impact, and I did that,” Borgelin said. “It was a great moment because my family was there and all the fans and my friends.”

Asked how the team is dealing with the pressure and high expectations heading into the 2024 season opener Feb. 21 against Real Salt Lake, Borgelin smiled and replied: “That’s expected when you have the greatest player in the world, four of the greatest players in the world, but I think we’re ready. We are all called up to a big task. I definitely think the (preseason) losses and everything that comes with that made us a lot stronger and you saw that (Thursday) with how we fought.”

Inter Miami was back home for its preseason finale after a 24,000-mile global tour during which it won one game and lost three in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The friendly reception Messi received on Thursday was a far cry from the jeers he endured in Hong Kong from irate fans who demanded – and eventually received – refunds after Messi did not play due to a hip adductor injury.

Messi started Thursday’s game, as did Luis Suarez, who also missed the Hong Kong match. They both had played in the previous game in Tokyo and seemed to be moving well against Newell’s. Messi showed moments of brilliance, breaking through tight spaces like only he can, but he did not find the back of the net.

Messi had a shot go just wide and a free kick that also sailed wide. He and Suarez connected on some nice passing sequences, including one that led to a shot by Diego Gomez that went over the crossbar. Gomez was coming off an outstanding spell with the Paraguay national team in the pre-Olympic tournament. He captained the Paraguayan team and scored five goals in the pre-Olympic competition.

Martino said he spoke with Messi after the game, and he felt fit.

“Our plan was for Leo to play 45 to 60 minutes and he played almost 60 and felt good,” Martino said. “The way he was playing, the way he accelerated, it looked like he is fully recovered. The idea is for him to be ready for the 21st.”

Asked how he saw Suarez, who joined the team this season, Martino said: “Physically he looked good, but what impeded his preseason is not enough time working with the group. Leo, (Sergio) Busquets and (Jordi) Alba know him from before but the other players don’t know his tendencies, especially players who will be in the attack with him, like (Julian) Gressel and Gomez. They need more time together.”

Martino said he feels optimistic about his team with a week to go until the MLS opener and that the team is still in the market for a few players, if they can make space in the roster. Those moves were already in play Thursday.

Brazilian midfielder Gregore was missing from the roster and a club official said he is heading back to his home country to play for Botafogo. Martino confirmed that the club is in talks with Botafogo about Gregore. Miami had to unload a significant amount of salary to be roster compliant by Feb. 21, the day before the season opener against Real Salt Lake. Gregore, the team captain before his foot injury early in the 2023 season, made $961,250 last year.

With the expected signing of 21-year-old Argentine defensive midfielder Federico Redondo, one of the other midfielders became expendable. It made financial sense to sell Gregore. According to Brazilian reports, the transfer fee was just over $2.6 million.

Because of Redondo’s age, he will likely be slotted as one of Inter Miami’s three Under 22 Initiative players, replacing fellow Argentine Facundo Farias, who is expected to miss the 2024 season and be placed on an injury list after suffering a torn ACL during the team’s first preseason game at El Salvador. Under the U22 designation, only $200,000 of Redondo’s salary would count against the team salary charge (cap).

Note: Inter Miami CF on Thursday announced a multi-year partnership with battery brand, Duracell today as its Official Power partner.