Inter Miami's coach openly discusses Messi playing in the MLS instead of the national team

Coach Mascherano clarifies the reason Messi is absent from Argentina's squad yet still competes for Inter Miami.

Lionel Messi, captain of Inter Miami CF, led the team to a 4-0 victory over Atlanta United FC on the morning of October 12 at Chase Stadium, temporarily stepping away from his international duties with Argentina to secure crucial points for the Herons.

Although called up by Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni for two friendly matches in the October FIFA window against Venezuela and Puerto Rico, Messi instead played for Miami in the final game of the Major League Soccer season at Chase Stadium.

"The situation was quite straightforward before yesterday’s match," Miami coach Javier Mascherano commented on Messi’s availability. "I spoke with Scaloni, and he said he would rest Messi, that he wouldn't use him. I talked with Leo about playing today; nothing more than that. Scaloni didn’t plan to field Messi yesterday; he wanted to try something different. As the coach said, it was his decision.

"We saw a clear opportunity since he didn’t play against Venezuela yesterday, that we could use him. Leo was very willing, even though he had trained all week with the national team.

We know he is a special player; he is exceptional, and for us, even though he hadn’t trained with us, we saw what he showed today. So, he helped us win. He scored goals, which is also very important for him."

Argentina also had two friendly matches in the US during the October FIFA Days. In the first friendly against Venezuela, Messi did not play and watched from the stands as his teammates competed. Argentina won 1-0. The next day, Messi started for Inter Miami and delivered an impressive performance with 2 goals and 1 assist in a 4-0 victory.