Since the end of the season at Inter Miami, Lionel Messi has been constantly in the gym working to maintain his form. But La Pulga could still go for a ninth Golden Ball if he succeeds in all the competitions open to him in 2024.
Lionel Messi is consistently considered the best footballer in history. Having won everything during his glorious career, Captain Albiceleste recently lifted the 2023 Golden Ball, his eighth in history, a record in the history of this sport. Messi hasn’t really helped Inter Miami this season. But with the arrival of Luis Suarez, La Pulga is ready to carry David Beckham’s club this year, which coincides with other important meetings with Argentina.
Indeed, after an excellent 2023 in which he set new records, Messi will look to continue winning trophies in 2024 with Argentina and Inter Miami. Faced with a long season, the most successful player in the history of sport will have eight opportunities to increase his record and enrich his myth with collective successes such as the Copa América and the CONCACAF Champions League.
2024, a busy year for Lionel Messi
In addition to the Albiceleste friendlies and the rest of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, Argentina will look to retain the Copa América title acquired in 2021. With Messi at the helm and Angel Di Maria, who will bid farewell to Argentina, Lionel Scaloni’s team will travel to the United States from June 20 to July 14 in search of a second title.
Two weeks later, the Olympic Games begin in Paris. At the end of January, the under-23 team led by Javier Mascherano participates in the pre-Olympic tournament. If they qualify, each nation is entitled to three players over the age of 23 and Mascherano has always left open the possibility of calling up Messi. “If he wants to play he is welcome, but we have to qualify first. He has the doors of the national team open to do what he wants, that’s the reality. My relationship with him is one of great friendship and I would very much like to go to the Olympics with him,” said the former Albiceleste defender who played for Liverpool and FC Barcelona.
2024 will also be the first year Messi plays the entire MLS championship. Which will give him a better chance of participating in the play-offs and competing for the title. The title he will try to retain is the League Cup, which would be Messi’s second trophy this year in MLS. It was the 44th title of his career, making him the most successful player in history, ahead of Dani Alves, who won 43.
Other titles Messi could win with Inter Miami in 2024
Thanks to its victory in the Leagues Cup, Inter Miami secured a place in the Copa Interamericana for the return of this tournament. Another trophy he could win is the CONCACAF Champions League, where he awaits the winner of the match between Nashville and Deportivo Moca of the Dominican Republic in the round of 16, scheduled for February 2024.
If crowned champion, Inter Miami would have the right to compete in the Intercontinental Cup at the end of the year. It’s pending. This is the US Open Cup, of which Las Garzas were finalists in 2023. So if Messi wins all his trophies followed by the Copa America and the Olympic Games (if he responds favorably to Mascherano’s call), he would inevitably be cited among the favorites for the 2024 Golden Ball.
Leave a Reply