Lionel Messi is ready for anything MLS throws his way.
Messi has already shown that any skepticism about his engagement levels or ability to succeed with fewer world-class teammates was misplaced, as he has helped turn a woeful Inter Miami side into the favorite to win the Leagues Cup seemingly overnight.
The on-field side is working for him, but what about, literally speaking, the field?
Most MLS sides play on natural grass, but just over one-fifth of the league’s teams have some form of artificial turf, a surface Messi has not had to deal with in La Liga, Ligue 1, or with Argentina during international matches.
It has been speculated in some corners that Messi might take issue with that. Would he play on plastic? Would he do so, but then go public with complaints about the issue, as other global superstars have done upon coming to the league?
It turns out, not so much. With the Leagues Cup final looming, Messi addressed media for the first time since joining Inter Miami, telling a press conference on Thursday that playing on artificial turf just isn’t a big deal to him.
“I did all of my youth career on artificial turf,” a relaxed Messi told reporters. “It’s been a long time since I played on turf, but I don’t have a problem with it.”
Messi spent that youth career at Newell’s Old Boys in his native Argentina (1995-2000), and at Barcelona’s famed “La Masia” academy from 2000-03.
MLS turf worries might have been misplaced
In July MLS commissioner Don Garber said that while he will leave playing surface questions to individual clubs, he hoped teams hosting Inter Miami would shell out for a temporary grass surface.
While the Leagues Cup final will take place on the natural Bermuda grass playing surface at Nashville SC’s Geodis Park, Messi and Miami have at least two matches that as of now will be played on artificial turf: away games against Atlanta United (September 16) and Charlotte FC (October 21).
Given Miami’s place in the MLS standings, a borderline miraculous run to a playoff spot will almost certainly require a win from one or both of those games. The match against Charlotte, which will fall on MLS’s “Decision Day” slate of regular-season finales, seems particularly important.
The Athletic previously reported that as of last month, Atlanta and Charlotte had no plans to bring in a grass surface when Miami comes to town. Given Messi’s sanguine response, it seems like those clubs will be under little to no pressure to meet Garber’s polite request.
Big-name stars coming to MLS have previously been less than enthusiastic about playing on turf. Thierry Henry spent four-and-a-half years with the New York Red Bulls, and suited up for just three of a possible 16 matches on an artificial surface (one of which was a playoff game).
However, given the casual nature that Messi used to brush off the issue, it seems at this point like a plastic pitch — much like defenders from MLS and Liga MX thus far in Miami’s run through the Leagues Cup — simply won’t be a problem.
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