Lionel Messi: Meet Argentine’s New Inter Miami Team-Mates7 min read
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami debut will be his first senior club game outside European football
Lionel Messi is expected to make his much-hyped Inter Miami debut in Friday’s Leagues Cup match at home to Mexican side Cruz Azul.
His former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets could also make his debut – with the pair managed by their ex-Barca boss Gerard Martino, who replaced Phil Neville in June.
And a third Barca legend in Jordi Alba is set to sign too, although his debut is likely to be against Atlanta on Tuesday.
Among their team-mates are a Finn with an English dad, Neville’s son and a former Premier League player who drives around in a golf cart.
BBC Sport takes a look at some of the players Messi, Busquets and Alba are likely to line up with over the second half of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season.
Goalkeeper
Drake Callender
The 25-year-old joined Inter Miami before their first season in 2020 and is in his second campaign as their first-choice keeper.
He has been named in USA squads but is yet to make his international debut.
Defenders
Sergii Kryvtsov
Sergii Kryvtsov is the only current Ukraine international who plays his club football outside Europe
The 32-year-old Ukraine centre-back joined Inter Miami in January, having spent his career before then in his homeland.
In over a decade with Shakhtar Donetsk, he won eight league titles and played 20 Champions League matches.
Kryvtsov left war-torn Ukraine with his wife and children last year.
DeAndre Yedlin
DeAndre Yedlin scored two Premier League goals for Newcastle
The 30-year-old United States right-back is the only one of Messi’s new team-mates with Premier League experience.
Yedlin played 109 times in the Premier League between 2014 and 2021, with most of those appearances coming for Newcastle after spells with Tottenham and Sunderland.
Last year, he told GQ magazine his main mode of transport is a golf cart, despite the fact he does not really play golf.
Christopher McVey
The 26-year-old had spent his career with Elfsborg in his homeland of Sweden until joining Inter Miami in 2022.
He is eligible for the United States through family and Sweden – for whom he last played at under-18 level.
Kamal Miller
The Canada centre-back, 26, only joined Inter Miami in April, having started the season with another MLS team Montreal.
He was named an MLS All-Star last season.
Harvey Neville
Neville has been in the Manchester United, Manchester City and Valencia youth set-ups
Full-back Neville, 20, has stayed at Inter Miami despite his father Phil being sacked as manager, and is still involved in the first team.
He was previously on the books of Manchester United, his father’s old club, and Valencia when Phil was assistant manager there.
Neville, who can also play in midfield, has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-19 level.
Ian Fray
Defender Fray, 20, has played in recent weeks after his first two seasons were plagued by injury.
He was named in Jamaica’s provisional 50-man squad for the recent Gold Cup, but did not make the final squad – and remains eligible for the US.
Noah Allen
Allen, 19, is in his second season with Inter Miami’s first team and is a US Under-20s international.
Ryan Sailor
Sailor, 24, is in his second season with Inter Miami after playing for the University of Washington Huskies.
Israel Boatwright
Dominican Republic Under-20s right-back Boatwright, 18, has played twice this season on short-term deals from the reserve team.
Midfielders
Dixon Arroyo
The Ecuador defensive midfielder, 31, is one of a host of South Americans to join Inter Miami this year.
He was signed as a replacement for the injured Brazilian Gregore.
Benjamin Cremaschi
Cremaschi, 18, has been called up to the Argentina and United States Under-20s squads.
He is a Miami native, but his father Pablo played international rugby union for Argentina.
David Ruiz
The 19-year-old only became a member of Inter Miami’s senior squad in April, having played twice before on brief loan spells from their reserve team.
He represented Honduras in the recent Under-20 World Cup, but has been named in US youth squads too.
Robert Taylor
Taylor has won 29 caps for Finland
Finland midfielder Taylor, 28, is in his second season at Inter Miami – and was a key part of their run to the play-offs last year.
Taylor, who can also play on the wing or at wing-back, spent time on the books of Nottingham Forest and Lincoln City when he was younger. His father Paul was an English footballer who played in Finland in the mid-1990s.
Lawson Sunderland
The 21-year-old made his debut in Inter Miami’s last game, a 3-0 loss at St Louis, but was subbed off at half-time.
Edison Azcona
Azcona, 19, is a senior Dominican Republic international and in 2021 became the first Inter Miami academy product to play for the first team. He finished last season on loan at El Paso Locomotive in the USL Championship.
Victor Ulloa
Defensive midfielder Ulloa, 31, is eligible for Mexico and the United States but uncapped by either. He has lots of MLS experience, playing 250 times in the US top flight for Dallas, Cincinnati and Inter Miami.
Forwards
Leonardo Campana
Ecuador forward Campana, 22, was a Wolves player for three years until joining Inter Miami on a permanent deal in January this year – although never played for the English team.
He went on loan to Famalicao in Portugal, Swiss side Grasshoppers and then Inter Miami, where he scored 12 goals last year.
Campana’s father Pablo represented Ecuador in the Olympics at tennis, reached the third round of the US Open, and was the country’s minister of commerce from 2017 to 2019.
Josef Martinez
Martinez is one of the MLS’s most prolific strikers
Venezuela frontman Martinez, 30, is joint 10th on the all-time MLS goalscoring list.
He joined Inter Miami from Atlanta United at the start of the season to replace the retired Gonzalo Higuain.
In 2018 Martinez won the MLS title, Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player (MVP) award with Atlanta.
He previously played in Europe for Young Boys and Thun in Switzerland, and Torino in Italy.
Nicolas Stefanelli
Argentine forward Stefanelli, 28, has done plenty of travelling in recent years.
Since 2019 he has played in Cyprus, Chile, Sweden and now the United States, joining Inter Miami at the start of the season from AIK.
Shanyder Borgelin
Haiti striker Borgelin, 21, made his MLS debut this season, having been Inter Miami II’s top scorer last season with 14 goals. Born in Florida, he is 6ft 4in.
Robbie Robinson
Robinson, 24, was the top pick in the 2020 MLS draft having played college football at Clemson. He was called up to the Chile squad in 2021 but said he needed time to think about his international future as he was also eligible for the USA. He remains uncapped by either.
