Messi and Inter Miami Playing Against Salvadorian National Team

By Miya Gonzalez 

On January 19, Inter Miami played El Salvador as a way to kick off the preseason games, and the stadium filled up hours before Messi arrived. The team was hosted by Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, at the presidential house. The game ended scoreless, and it was a very exciting match with each side attempting many goals. 

It was big news when it was announced that Messi and his team Inter Miami would be playing against the Salvadoran National team. Tickets were sold out within hours of going on sale with prices in the $500 range. The main stadium in El Salvador was renovated for Messi’s first visit to the country. When he arrived, thousands of people were waiting to catch a glimpse of him arriving at the airport and at his hotel. 

It was a huge deal that Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, met all of Inter Miami's players, in a last minute visit to meet and take pictures with them at the hotel where they arrived at 1am. Bukele is the Latin American president with the highest popularity ranking at 88%. It is an election year, and Salvadorans like seeing the president with these mega soccer stars. The president wrote on social media, “welcome to the international stars of Inter Miami …. We hope that all soccer fans and the country in general enjoy every minute of this show.”

Messi and his former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba were in the starting lineup for this match. Luis Suarez had previously played with Messi for Barcelona and Salvadorans were excited to see him play alongside his friend again. Sadly, many people were disappointed when Messi was substituted out at halftime. El Salvador had better chances at goal in the first half with Mario González being the best on the team.  Both teams had many close attempts at shooting but this game ended with 0-0 as the score.