Is Lionel Messi playing today? Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake in 2024 MLS season opener


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The stage is set, and the wait is over.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s highly anticipated 2024 MLS season kicks off tonight against Real Salt Lake at the newly named Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Messi and his close friends Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have rejoined forces after their days leading Barcelona to glory for a new journey together with Inter Miami.

And the stakes are high for Messi and Inter Miami this season.

Inter Miami’s quest to winning four potential championships begins in the season opener.

“Hopefully, we can win all of them. That’s the idea.” Alba said Tuesday of the Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, U.S. Open Cup — if Inter Miami participates — and MLS Cup in 2024.

How to watch Messi match today: Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake

MLS Season Pass on Apple TV will stream the Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake season kickoff match.

Lionel Messi starting for Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake

Inter Miami’s power quartet of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are all in the starting lineup for the season opener against Real Salt Lake. For Suarez, this is his first MLS start.

Here is the starting 11 for Real Salt Lake as it attempts to extend a 14-game unbeaten streak in MLS opening weekend games:

Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake odds

Inter Miami is the favorite to win tonight’s match with -175 moneyline odds, according to BETMGM. Real Salt Lake is a +400 underdog, while a tie is +340.

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez are expected to start for Inter Miami

Lionel Messi (adductor) and Luis Suarez (knee), who were both hampered by injury in Hong Kong earlier this month, are healthy and fit to play the full 90 minutes if necessary, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said Tuesday.

“They’re playing and they’re ready to play,” Martino said during a news conference. “If they’re required to play 90 minutes, we’re going to look at it always depending on the need of the team.”

Big day for Apple TV as MLS begins 2024 season

Lionel Messi fans can find their Messi fix on Apple TV+ and Apple Music.

The documentary “Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend” debuted late Tuesday on Apple TV+ in time for the start of the MLS season.

Messi and Apple Music also released a music playlist Tuesday, titled “Messi: The Warm-Up.”

MLS Season Pass on Apple TV will also broadcast every MLS game this season.

Apple also debuted its new Apple Sports App on Wednesday.

Messi playlist on Apple Music

“Messi: The Warm-Up” was unveiled on Apple Music with the favorite pre-match songs of the soccer G.O.A.T. The playlist included artists such as Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, Rihanna and Grupo Frontera.

Major League Soccer is having its moment again in the United States, and you can thank Lionel Messi for that. This will be Messi’s first full season with the team after joining last summer, and captivating fans by leading the club to a Leagues Cup title a month after his arrival. The expectations are even higher in 2024.

But fans need to temper their expectations of how much they’ll see Messi play — if they see him at all — with a grueling schedule ahead for the 36-year-old star.

Major League Soccer locked out referees after its union rejected a tentative contract, putting Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on track to open the season with replacement officials.

The Professional Soccer Referees Association said Saturday that 95.8% voted against a tentative agreement with the Professional Referee Organization, which supplies match officials to MLS, the NWSL and some lower-tier leagues.

MLS used replacement officials for the first two weeks of its 2014 season before reaching a five-year contract after the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service entered talks.

Andrés Salerno never thought his Lionel Messi customized sneakers would go viral. And he never thought he would get the chance to make a pair, and give them directly to his soccer idol. What started as a passion project and turned into a viral moment led to an opportunity of a lifetime for Salerno, who was born in Buenos Aires.

Lionel Messi posted a video Monday on one of the largest social media platforms in China, to dispel “false stories” he did not play in Hong Kong earlier this month due to “political reasons and many other reasons that are totally untrue.”

Messi, the Inter Miami star, reaffirmed his reasoning to not play in Inter Miami’s sold-out preseason friendly game against a group of Hong Kong all-stars in Hong Kong Stadium on Feb. 4 due to an adductor injury.

Messi, Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham and the team were serenaded with boos by fans, one day after Messi lightly participated in a training session at the venue.

Inter Miami was not exactly an elite MLS team in 2023. In fact, they were outside the playoff bubble for most of the season. However, in 2024, they are the favorites to win the MLS Cup.

Even if Lionel Messi remains healthy, Miami won’t just waltz into MLS Cup. They’ll have to contend with a myriad of great teams such as last year’s winners, Columbus Crew SC, and last year’s runner-up, Los Angeles FC.

Here are the 2024 MLS Cup favorites, courtesy of BetMGM:

Lionel Messi Mania will be far from the only intriguing story to follow in MLS this season. From replacement referees to the prospects of some USMNT hopefuls to the Columbus Crew’s repeat chances, there will be plenty to follow in 2024.

Could Lionel Messi play in 2024 Paris Olympics? 

Argentina has qualified for men’s football at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. And, with that, there will be questions about whether Lionel Messi will want to try to add another Olympic gold medal to his extensive collection of awards.

“The door is open for a player like him to join us,” said Argentina coach Javier Mascherano, a close friend of Messi and title-winning teammate at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “Then it depends on him and his commitments.”

Mascherano also was teammates with Messi when Argentina won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Group stage play for men’s soccer at the 2024 Olympics starts on Wednesday, July 24. The gold-medal match will be held Friday, July 9.

That schedule would mean Messi might not miss any MLS games. However, he would miss significant time with Inter Miami as it attempts to defend its Leagues Cup title.

Inter Miami’s upcoming schedule 

(All games available to stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.)

Feb. 21, vs. Real Salt Lake, 8 p.m. ET

Feb. 25, at Los Angeles Galaxy, 8:30 p.m. ET

March 2, vs. Orlando City, 4:30 p.m. ET (FOX)

March 7, at Nashville SC/Moca winner, 9 p.m. ET (Concacaf Champions League)

March 10, vs. CF Montréal, 5 p.m. ET

March 13, vs. Nashville SC/Moca winner, 8:15 p.m. ET (Concacaf Champions League)

March 16, at D.C. United, 2 p.m. ET

March 23, at New York Red Bulls, 2 p.m. ET

March 30, vs. New York City FC, 7:30 p.m. ET

April 6, vs. Colorado Rapids, 7:30 p.m. ET

April 13, at Sporting Kansas City, 8:30 p.m. ET

April 20, vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m. ET

April 27, at New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m. ET

➤ Inter Miami’s complete 2024 schedule

MLS new kits for 2024 

Every team in the league will be sporting at least one new kit for the new campaign. Take a look at the new jerseys for the 2024 season.

MLS 2024 season key dates 

Feb. 21: Season opener, Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake

Feb. 24-25: MLS is Back weekend

May 11-18: Rivalry week

July 24: MLS All-Star Game, in Columbus, Ohio

July 26-Aug. 25: Leagues Cup

Oct. 19: Final day of regular season (MLS Decision Day)

Dec. 7: MLS Cup

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Messi match today: Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake, live updates



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