In the Inter Miami debut against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on July 21, Messi did not start in the starting lineup and only came on in the 54th minute. As soon as he entered the field, the Argentinian rookie was handed the captain’s armband by defender DeAndre Yedlin.
As expected of the fans, the Argentine star scored a free-kick in the fourth minute of injury time and brought a 2-1 victory for Inter Miami.
On July 24, during the press conference before the Atlanta United match in the second leg of Group J of the Leagues Cup, coach Gerado Martino confirmed that Messi will continue to wear the Inter Miami captaincy.
Previously, the captaincy belonged to 29-year-old Brazilian midfielder Gregore, but he is currently out for a long time due to a foot injury.
The decision to let Messi captain Inter Miami received great support from his teammates. Midfielder Robert Taylor said of Messi: “It’s amazing, it’s amazing, of course I’m excited for him to wear the captain’s armband”.
According to Athletic , Messi could start the game against Atlanta alongside former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets, who also came on as a substitute against Cruz Azul.
Coach Martino said: “It is very likely that both Messi and Sergio Busquets will play with a longer number of minutes, even starting from the start. Everything will depend on how they feel. This is only their second game in Inter Miami”.
