Lionel Messi has spent one-and-a-half season with Inter Miami and was left seething after the side drew a game earlier in the campaign, according to teammate Julian Gressel
Lionel Messi has made it clear to his Inter Miami teammates that drawing matches is “unacceptable”.
After leading Miami to the Supporters’ Shield by finishing at the top of the regular season standings in his second season with the Major League Soccer team, Messi’s high standards were evident. However, Miami were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, losing 2-1 to Atlanta United in a best-of-three series.
Julian Gressel, a midfielder for Miami and a member of the United States Men’s National Team, shared insights about sharing a changing room with Messi on the ‘Major League Journeymen’ podcast.
He said: “It’s demanding (working with him). You’re talking about the player with the most wins in the history of the game.”
“They’re coming in and they’re expecting the same, and you as a teammate, you kind of have to get accustomed to that and get used to that with Messi, [Luis] Suarez, [Sergio] Busquets and [Jordi] Alba. It’s unacceptable to tie a game, as simple as that. We tied a game earlier in the year and I remember him being really really upset in the locker room, he’s like, ‘We shouldn’t tie, we can’t tie.'”
Barcelona legends Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Alba may be in the final stages of their illustrious careers, but they’ve lost none of their fervour for success. Midfielder Gressel opened up about the dynamic within the team, singling out Suarez for his forthrightness.
“When it comes to the game or when it comes to being serious, it’s being serious and it’s time,” the 30-year-old continued. “If you’re not doing your part, you’re getting it, like, you’re hearing it. You notice they’re not content. [Messi has] addressed other guys directly, he’s more so quiet, but you have guys like Luis, who’s a little bit more emotional.
Gressel has opened up on what it is like to play alongside Lionel Messi and Luiz Suarez ( Image: Getty Images)
Despite Miami being tipped to take the MLS Cup following an impressive regular season, Gressel admits there were early signs prior to their playoff exit. “After the loss, the guys were distraught in the locker room. You have everybody kind of staring into nothing,” Gressel said. “You just sit in the quiet and kind of in disbelief, but also very hesitant too, like, ‘Whoa, like, what just happened.’
“I saw some warning signs throughout the last few weeks of the season. All year long, we’ve given up too many chances and we’ve given up too many goals and that’s all usually something that you have to fix before the playoffs in order to kind of make a deep run.”
