FIFA Club World Cup 2025 officially kicks off: When everyone needs Messi

TPO - Inter Miami has officially begun their journey at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Maybe they will go far, maybe they won't. However, that doesn't matter. What matters is that Lionel Messi is here, as everyone expected.

A few days ago, Argentina hosted Colombia at home in a 2026 World Cup qualifier. Lionel Messi's team fell behind in the 24th minute, then went down to 10 men when Enzo Fernandez was sent off in the 70th minute. Messi, in the deep-lying playmaker role, had yet to produce a moment of magic, but surprisingly, he asked to be taken off in the 78th minute.

Without Messi, however, Argentina are even better, with young, dynamic and creative players. This was proven in the 81st minute, with a goal from 24-year-old Thiago Almada.

Lionel Scaloni is doing his best to reduce his dependence on Messi. In an impressive 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, La Albiceleste topped the group with 35 points and had 11 players on the scoresheet. Messi leads the way with six goals, but three of those came in a 6-0 win over Bolivia in mid-October. The other six games with nine goals have not been scored by Messi.

Lionel Messi asked to be taken off the field in last week's match against Colombia.

It's different with Inter Miami. The Florida-based team can't live without Messi. He's the brains, the scorer, and has the ultimate say in the team, from personnel decisions to the tactics the team will play.

In the 2024 season, despite playing only half the games (19), Messi still scored 20 goals and had 16 assists. He helped Inter Miami win the Supporters' Shield, a title awarded to the club with the most points in an MLS season, in addition to the record for points. Then Messi got injured, Inter Miami became lifeless and was eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Inter Miami also needs Messi commercially. Before he arrived, they had fewer than a million Instagram followers. Now they have 17 million. Messi is also a magnet for record audiences. This season, 72,610 people watched Inter Miami visit Kansas City, and another 65,612 attended their game against Foxborough.

Messi is important to Inter Miami in every aspect, from the pitch to media and commerce.

Celebrities were also lured to watch Messi play. Leonardo Di Caprio, Kim Kardashian, Will Ferrell, Edward Norton, Selena Gomez witnessed Inter Miami's League Cup victory, their first trophy since their formation.

That day in the stands, owner David Beckham described it as like a Hollywood movie. Next year Inter Miami will open a new $1 billion stadium at Freedom Park. Of course, they need Messi there.

Of course, MLS and the United States need Messi, too. The Argentine superstar has fueled a passion for football in the country, which coincides with the country’s ambition to become a stage for global events. They have hosted the Copa America several times, including last year’s edition, which Messi and his teammates won. Then there’s the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. And then there’s the 2031 Women’s World Cup.

Messi is also important to MLS, America and FIFA.

That's why FIFA President Gianni Infantino quickly handed Messi and his Inter Miami teammates a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup, which should have gone to LA Galaxy, the MLS Cup winners.

MLS, on the other hand, has no complaints. MLS commissioner Don Garber revealed that Messi’s pink jersey is Adidas’ best-selling product, while claiming that Messi has “ignited the interest of American sports fans” and “brought the league to a global audience.”

As soon as Messi signed, Inter Miami and MLS made no secret of their intention to tie him to the club and the league long-term, with a commitment that he would own shares in Inter Miami after his retirement, becoming a shareholder of MLS. The Telegraph also said that Major League Soccer has thought about optimizing the Messi effect to improve the league. They have begun discussing the possibility of changing the match schedule to match the FIFA schedule, while allowing teams to spend more, and the relegation and promotion mechanism is also being considered.

There is no doubt that everyone will offer the best deal for Messi to remain an MLS player. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas recently said that contract negotiations are still ongoing and an official announcement will be made in the next few weeks. "Messi will finish his career here," Mas confidently said.

The desire for success may be the reason why Messi is frustrated with his time at Inter Miami.

However, there are concerns about Messi's recent irritability. It seems that the responsibility of leading Inter Miami to success, but the results are not as expected, makes the 37-year-old superstar easily get angry with opponents, argue with referees and show frustration on many occasions. There is even speculation that Messi will leave Inter Miami if he fails in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, similar to the times he announced his retirement from the Argentina national team after failing to win the title before.

This worry may be a bit unnecessary, because Inter Miami has very little chance against strong teams from South America, let alone European superpowers. There is no pressure on him to win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. For many, Messi's presence in the tournament is already a success.

“For the world and the fans, it is very important that Inter Miami is included. Because, whether some people like it or not, Messi is the character that people want to see,” Sergio Aguero said in a FIFA video.

Watch FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ live and exclusively in Vietnam on FPT Play, with the support of Budweiser - Global Sponsor of the tournament and Samsung AI TV brand, visit http://fptplay.vn

Thanh Hai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/fifa-club-world-cup-2025-chinh-thuc-khoi-tranh-khi-tat-ca-deu-can-messi-post1751218.tpo