27 December 2023 , 08:00
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Lionel Messi has called upon fellow Argentina native and former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo to join him at MLS side Inter Miami.
Messi has been a key part of Inter Miami's transfer recruitment contingent since joining the United States club last year. Following his arrival, longtime friends such as Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez have accepted the World Cup winner's call to action. According to Continental 590 radio, Rojo could be next.
While the Boca Juniors defender is no longer in Argentina's national team picture, he's appeared 61 times for his country, with many of those outings coming alongside Messi. He competed at two World Cup tournaments, the first of which helped convince United to sign him in 2014.
Once used more as a left-back, Rojo now usually occupies central defence. Miami are in search of experienced support in that area after conceding 54 goals in 34 league matches last campaign.
Since his time at United, though, Rojo has developed a reputation for hot-headed behaviour. Last year, the Boca Juniors players kicked Nicolas De La Cruz in the head. He once allegedly threw a fire extinguisher in a tunnel bust-up.
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It's an issue Rojo said he's tried to address through work with sports psychologists. "[It] helps me a lot, I am always in contact," he told to TyC Sports in 2022. "I started because of the injuries, I felt I was doing all I could with the doctors, I followed the recovery stages and when I got back on the field I got injured again. I couldn't figure it out.
Marcos Rojo couldn't cut it at Manchester United (Getty Images)"Since I started working with [the psychologist] the injuries have been less frequent and I felt good again on the pitch. He told me to trust in myself and in my body again."
Miami head coach Tata Martino's desire to have a squad full of players with maximum tenacity is working in favour of a potential Rojo offer from Inter Miami. "I think the strength of the team is the desire to compete," he said earlier this year. "We are competing very well through many different competitions. We set objectives and we try to achieve them and there is a conviction that we can compete and achieve them no matter what."
Inter Miami are coming off a season of highs and lows. They were clearly a reborn team once Messi arrived, lifting the Leagues Cup trophy for their first-ever piece of silverware before reaching the US Open Cup final. However, they couldn't claw their way back into the play-off race in the final stretch, as Messi dealt with nagging injuries.
The 2024 MLS season will begin on February 21 with a clash between Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake. It will be Messi's first full season with the club, and he's already landed in Miami to start preparations.