Lionel Messi returns from Argentina farewell as Inter Miami face DC United

Lionel Messi said his farewell to the Argentina national team earlier this week when he played his final match for the three-time world champions, ending a 21-year international career.

Messi’s next task will be to break Inter Miami out of their five-match winless streak in Major League Soccer (MLS) when they host DC United on Saturday.

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Inter Miami (12-5-10, 46 points) sit in third place in the Eastern Conference despite being tied in points with New England, as the Revolution hold the tiebreaker with 14 wins so far.

DC United (6-8-12, 30 points) are in 11th place and need a victory, as they are three points behind the final playoff spot in the conference.

Inter Miami won the Campeones Cup on September 16 in their first match under recently hired coach Kily Gonzalez, but they drew with San Diego and lost 2-1 at Columbus last Sunday in two league matches since.

Messi has been stellar once again this season, with 21 goals and 13 assists in league play as he chases his third consecutive MLS MVP award, but Miami will need more contributors as it has won only once in its last 10 league matches.

“Leo is a person who every day conveys it and passes it on to his teammates, and he demands from all of us that you have to be at 100% in every way,” Gonzalez said on Friday.

DC United are also looking to break a three-match winless streak and win their first match since September 9.

They lost their first match against Miami, 2-1, on March 7 in Baltimore, in a game where Messi and Rodrigo De Paul each scored.

On Tuesday, Messi delivered one last masterclass in the blue and white of Argentina as its most decorated player and captain, by scoring one goal and setting up two others in a 3-0 friendly match against Benin.

The 39-year-old’s final bow came in front of more than 85,000 fans at a packed Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

Messi left as the country’s most-capped player (208) and record scorer, having transformed years of frustration on the international stage into a story of World Cup and Copa America triumphs.