Lionel Messi and Inter Miami to start the season

A day later, Lionel Messi jersey As expected, Inter Miami's season will start with the Herons taking on Sporting Kanas City in the Concacaf Champions Cup on Wednesday night. With the cold weather expected, it didn't take long for the eternal question that has surrounded this team for the past season and a half to be turned on its head again - will Lionel Messi play?

The Argentine was Miami's talisman and then some, collecting 34 goals and 18 assists in just 39 appearances in all competitions, but he also missed a lot of time with various leg injuries. He enters the season on the cusp of turning 38 this year, with a lot of mileage on Messi's legs, and he's not getting any younger. His goal is to play in the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, but for that to happen Argentina's selector Lionel Scaloni, Inter coach Javier Mascherano and Messi will have to be careful in managing the workload over a long season.

As Major League Soccer has reduced cup commitments for teams around the league, Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders will be the only teams to compete in three cup competitions with the Concacaf Champions Cup, League Cup and World Club Championship in addition to their home games. Add to that the international duty in the tight CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table, and it won't take long to accumulate games for the league's current Most Valuable Player.

Messi has shown that he doesn't need to play in every game to make an impact in Miami, but with key strikers like Diego Gomez and Leonardo Campana elsewhere at the start of the season, this may not be the case as the roster is thinner in key areas this season. In fact, if Miami's defence does not improve, they will actually need more from Messi, which is an unrealistic expectation.

Mascherano has a tougher task than meets the eye to bring this team together, and although pre-season performances have been good, especially with new signing Fafa Picault finding the net, this is just a pre-season game to be taken with a grain of salt. The show will officially be on the road when the Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off, and like most weeks, Miami will be facing two games each week as they take on New York City FC on Saturday on short rest to kick off the MLS regular season.

Considering Miami already has a regular season record last season, it would make sense to play Messi against SKC and then rest him against NYCFC, even if it's the opening game for the team. Nine Eastern Conference teams qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs and if Miami's depth players aren't good enough to make it, Mascherano needs to know quickly while the transfer window is open so they can add reinforcements.

Forwards have been added in Tadeo Allende and Telasco Segrovia, Inter Miami Football Jerseys who have the chance to relieve the pressure from Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, but the promotion of Benjamin Cremaschi and Federico Redondo will be key to how Miami plays without its stars. There is no doubt that Messi still has a lot to give to the team, but Miami must think about a future in which the Argentine will not be available to bail them out of games.

With this list, after him and Suarez, there is no way of knowing who the third striker will be, and that will be necessary when juggling these competing commitments. If Messi is needed to save the Herons from MLS games at the start of the season, it will leave them less likely to get the job done by the summer and beyond. Not playing star players at the start of the season creates significant growth opportunities and Miami should be able to deal with most of the competition during the rotation.

Things like this make Mascherano's job this season difficult. It's not just about getting the best out of his first 11, they can win most of the games on their own. It's about making sure the right changes are made at the right time and that all the younger players grow into their own. That's where Tata Martino has struggled and part of why Miami now has a new coach. If this is just a Messi show, while it will be fun to watch this season, it won't create the best possible Inter Miami team.