Messi in 'more connected' group of four separate from rest of Inter Miami squad
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets stick together as a group of four who sometimes operate away from everyone else at MLS side Inter Miami. However, one outsider to the clique, teammate Julian Gressel, has insisted that the rest of the squad doesn't resent the situation.
And Gressel said Messi, Suarez, Alba and Busquets sometimes get involved in team banter and barbecues. "Of course they are good friends. We all know that. That's why it's completely normal that they are a little more connected," Gressell said, according to TyC Sports.
"They have achieved a lot together and the families get along well too. That's why naturally they work a lot in a group of four. But they are very integrated, they take the whole team with them and make a lot of jokes. We had barbecues together. This is a completely normal team structure, like in any other team of which I was a member.”
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Messi completed a fairytale transfer to Inter Miami last year and was followed by former Barcelona teammates Alba and Busquets. The trio helped the franchise to Leagues Cup victory, as well as a US Open Cup Final appearance - but they were unable to salvage Inter Miami's MLS campaign.
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Inter Miami showed early signs of a league revival following the legendary Barca trio's arrivals but they were unable to push high enough in the table to reach the playoffs, settling for a 14th-placed finish. David Beckham's football club decided to go big again in the offseason to prepare for 2024, with Inter Miami regarded as one of the favourites for the MLS Cup, and so they signed another Barca legend, Suarez.
It comes as little to no surprise to see and hear that the foursome has stuck together since reuniting in Miami, with their families also close. But Gressel believes that while Messi and Co. have their own clique, they aren't completely disconnected from the rest of manager Tata Martino's squad.
Inter Miami sits top of the Eastern Conference after two games (Getty)Inter Miami's big-name signings have paid off thus far, with the franchise sitting top of the East after two games. They secured a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Late in their opening game of the 2024 MLS season, followed by a 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy, with Messi scoring a late equaliser.
However, Inter Miami were aided by the sending off of Galaxy's Mark Delgado. Busquets has admitted the decision to send Delgado off was soft.
"Yes, there was contact," Busquets stated. "It was very mild. But it was the referee's decision about the card. I had practically not even seen that he had drawn a card because his back was turned and perhaps he is right that much more is needed for an expulsion because perhaps it was not even a card. A very slight fault that practically touched me."
They have a Florida Derby scheduled for Saturday, with Inter Miami welcoming Orlando City.
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