The Riverside Press-Enterprise
MESSI BUSINESS
MLS trumpets international star’s first full season at Inter Miami, with friends
Messi Mania returns to Major League Soccer as Lionel Messi embarks on his first full season with Inter Miami.
But this year, there’s a twist.
Inter Miami signed Luis Suarez in the offseason, reuniting the two close friends. The pair, along with former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, have made Miami THE team to watch heading into the Major League Soccer’s 29th season.
“Inter Miami offered me a nice opportunity to dream of winning the club’s first MLS title, to play with big players, who everybody knows, and adapt to my new team and club,” Suarez said. “I am motivated by that challenge.”
But with Messi, Suarez and the rest of Inter Miami set to open the season at home tonight against Real Salt Lake, MLS is in the middle of a labor dispute with its referees.
The Professional Referees Organization, which manages MLS referees, announced Saturday that it will lock out match officials after they rejected a proposed collective bargaining agreement just days before the start of the season.
PRO said it had reached a tentative agreement last weekend with the Professional Soccer Referees Association. But the union said nearly 96% of its members voted to reject it.
That means there will likely be replacement refs officiating matches for the foreseeable future.
The lockout casts a shadow on the start of an intriguing MLS year. Messi will have a full season to work his magic. The eight-time Ballon d’or winner arrived in Miami midway through last season, boosting ticket sales, jersey sales and Apple TV (the league’s media