Lionel Messi is anticipated to start against Newell’s Old Boys, his childhood team, following the Argentine team’s February agreement to play a preseason friendly at Inter Miami.
The Major League Soccer team declared on Monday that on February 15, they would meet Newell’s at their DRV PNK Stadium.
Based in Rosario, the city where Messi was born and raised, Newell’s played for their youth squad until he was thirteen and moved to the Spanish club Barcelona.
Gerardo “Tata” Martino, the interim coach, is a native of the city and was a player for the team for three stints prior to rejoining as coach in 2012.
“I am delighted to welcome my beloved Newell’s to our home here in Miami. It will be a special match due to everything Newell’s Old Boys means to me,” Martino said.
“It will also be a good opportunity to prepare for what will surely be an exciting season,” he added.
The fixture is the latest in a busy pre-season schedule for Miami who will kick-off the preparations by facing the El Salvador national team in San Salvador on January 19.
The club will then play two games in Saudi Arabia, including against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, before games in Hong Kong and Tokyo.