Lionel Messi celebrates Inter Miami’s end-of-season with his teammates

Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates may not have made it to the MLS playoffs, but they are still smiling. On Wednesday, the players reunited in Miami for an end-of-season Italian dinner.

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Messi looked in good spirits alongside his Inter Miami teammates like Sergio Busquets, Facundo Farias, Jordi Alba, Toto Avilés, Josef Martínez, Leonardo Campana, and Nico St. They chose David Grutman’s Italian-inspired waterfront restaurant Casadonna for the special occasion. The entrepreneur was all smiles and seemed very proud to host, and they had a giant cake for dessert.

Inter Miami’s hopes of reaching the MLS Playoffs ended after Cincinnati beat them 1-0 on October 7. Messi had missed the last four games prior due to a hamstring injury.

But they still have plenty to celebrate, like their Leagues Cup win in August. They took home the championship six days after Messi’s historical move from Paris Saint-Germain.

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They may not have made it to the postseason, but they aren’t done training, or playing. Tonight Inter Miami will take the field for the final time in 2023 to celebrate Messi’s record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or with a friendly match against New York City FC on Friday for “Noche d’Or” or “Golden Night.”

After the friendly match, Messi will still be in sports mode. On October 17, Messi scored both goals for Argentina in its 2-0 World Cup qualifying win at Peru. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will occur sometime in June to July 19, yet to be determined.

It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and will mark the first time the World Cup is hosted by three nations and the first North American World Cup since 1994.

Argentina is the defending champion.