Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 summary: Inter Miami - Nashville 1:3/Sport1
Leo Messi impressed again tonight (between Wednesday and Thursday) on the way to Inter Miami's 1:3 victory over Nashville, which advanced the Argentine and his teammates to the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Five goals and two assists are Messi's record since the start of the season in all formats, as he has been involved in a goal in all five of Inter Miami's games in which he has participated.
"He has such a big influence on the rest of the team. True, they have other very good players. But there is no one else who can do what Messi does," Nashville coach Gary Smith resignedly admitted after tonight's loss.
"There is infinite trust in his decisions, his technique and his abilities. The way he receives the ball, everyone steps up. And this is a serious problem for the players in front of him. There are maybe one or two other players in the league who receive such trust from their teammates. And none of them, of course, at the level that this man able to produce".
There is no other like it.
Messi celebrates tonight/GettyImages, Rich Storry
But while Messi is smiling on the pitch and Inter Miami is racking up wins, MLS leaders have reasons to worry.
The injury that forced the superstar to be replaced tonight in the 50th minute will likely prevent him from appearing in Inter Miami's next two league games, against DC.
United on Saturday and against New York Red Bull on March 23.
In the first, his coach Tata Martino has already announced that he is expected to rest in order not to endanger himself, in the second Messi should already be with the Argentina team for the friendly match against El Salvador.
Even when he returns from the national team and Inter Miami hosts New York City on the 31st of the month, it is estimated that Messi will rest for the quarter-finals of the International Factory of North-Central America, for which he qualified tonight.
In this way, Messi will be absent from the games against teams from the cities where the number of journalists is the largest in the United States, and from the point of view of the MLS it will be a "waste" of the exposure to the biggest star, the one through which it aims to promote the league, as explained in "Forbes".
The meeting with D.C.
United is the first of a cycle of 14 games that "Apple TV", which holds the broadcast rights to the league, offered to local football fans for free.
Now, the promotion that should attract fans to purchase the viewing package, in the center of which access to the broadcasts of Messi's games is offered, becomes much less enticing to the audience.
A natural solution
This is how you will improve performance and pleasure in bed - with an exclusive sale
in collaboration with "Gabra"
The league is subject to his wishes.
Messi/Reuters
On the other hand, from the games in the frameworks that do not belong to MLS, and therefore it does not benefit from their broadcasting rights, Messi is not absent and this of course corresponds to the interest and priorities of Inter Miami, which aims first and foremost at winning titles, and is not worried about him missing league games because there is another season long and she will have the possibility to correct even if she drops points.
For the leaders of the league this is a problem, as mentioned.
As part of Messi's signing agreement with Inter Miami, he was promised a share of the profits from the sale of "Apple TV" broadcasting rights to MLS, but the player himself obviously prioritizes his professional ambitions over the financial needs of the league and the broadcasting franchise, which are forced to "dance to the tune of the flute" His and in addition may also be damaged in the future by his participation in the Concacaf factory (which is broadcast on the "Fox" network), as in this case where an injury prevents Messi from playing in their frameworks.
Therefore, Messi's current injury is less of a concern for Inter Miami than for MLS, which will have to take a serious hit in its attempts to promote itself with the No. 1 star.
More on the same topic:
Lionel Messi
Inter Miami
MLS