Lionel Messi breaks silence in rare interview as Inter Miami hit new low in disastrous MLS season
Prior to the start of the MLS season, Inter Miami were tipped for bigger and better things as Lionel Messi hoped to finally capture the league title that had eluded him the last two seasons.
But as things stand in mid-May, that might be too much to ask of the Herons.
Messi and Inter Miami have won just four games in 12 matches since the start of April - including back-to-back losses that saw them eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
They've only one a single game - a 4-1 thrashing of the New York Red Bulls at home -in their last seven matches and lost three of their last five in the league.
So, when Messi gave a rare post-game interview to Apple TV's Michele Giannone in Spanish after a demoralizing 3-0 loss to in-state rivals Orlando City, the Argentinian World Cup winner reflected on his team's form.
'It´s a difficult time, but we're going to come through this,' Messi said in his native language.
'Now we'll really see if we're a team. These are difficult times. When everything is going well it's very easy, but when difficult times come - like now - we have to be more united than ever, be a real team, and get through it.'
The season prior, Inter Miami set the record for the best regular season in MLS history.
But this year, Messi and a squad made up of former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Sergio Busquets and helmed by Javier Mascherano currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference and eleventh in the race for the Supporters Shield.
'We're coming off a period of bad results,' Messi said. 'But we have to keep working and think about what´s next.
'With three or four games left in May, we (have to) finish the best possible way to be able to face the Club World Cup.'
The newly revamped Club World Cup should yield positive results for Inter Miami. The furthest they'll travel in the group stage is a few hours north to Atlanta for a match against FC Porto of Portugal.
Their group stage matches against Al Ahly of Egypt and Palmeiras of Brazil will both take place in Miami.
Messi is on an expiring contract that lapses at the end of the current MLS season.
While the club has made it clear they want Messi to extend his deal, there's no indication if that will happen.
Mascherano believes that there will be some kind of solution soon.
'Hopefully in a few weeks we can have some news about Leo,' Mascherano said. 'I think it will be very, very important for the club, the fans, and for MLS.'
Inter Miami have three more matches before their Club World Cup campaign begins.
That starts this weekend with a fixture against the league-leading Philadelphia Union
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