Messi’s Inter Miami team strikes 2-game deal to play in China in November
The HinduLionel Messi is going back to China after Inter Miami took advantage of not making the Major League Soccer playoffs by signing a deal to play two exhibitions there next month. Inter Miami’s announcement of the deal did not specifically mention Messi or any other player, though it would be surprising if Chinese officials agreed to the games without some sort of guarantee that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and the team’s other best-known standouts — Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba among them — would be making the trip if physically able. “We’re very excited to continue to expand our club’s global reach, bringing our team to play in front of incredible fans across the globe,” Inter Miami chief business officer Xavier Asensi said in remarks distributed by the club. Messi is currently with Argentina’s national team for World Cup qualifying and — given that nothing is at stake — it would seem unlikely that he’ll appear in either of the final two MLS matches of the season for his club.