Inter Miami head coach Kily Gonzalez has urged supporters to savour Lionel Messi after the captain’s emotional retirement from Argentina duty. He said the forward will be missed on the international stage but remains fiercely competitive as he returns to club football.
Messi, 39, bowed out after leading his country for the final time in a 3-0 win over Benin. “[The farewell match] was incredibly intense. Obviously, I was very close to him, but ultimately, that moment belonged to him, it was his time,” Gonzalez said. He spoke to ESPN.
OneFootball Videos
“All that mattered was for him to enjoy it. I just told him to enjoy it, to soak up all the love, not just from Argentina, but from the whole world. He’ll be missed in that jersey, of course, but today we have him here, and we have to enjoy having him with us now.”
“He’s a born competitor. You see it in every training session, and it’s incredible. He’s 39 years old, yet he’s constantly seeking out new challenges. That’s fantastic for everyone, not just his teammates, but the staff and the club as well.”
Messi now turns fully to Inter Miami’s campaign. They face D.C. United at Nu Stadium after the international break and sit third in the Eastern Conference with 46 points from 27 matches, on a five-match winless run in regular-season play despite a recent Campeones Cup win over Cruz Azul.
“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”
View publisher imprint
