No Ronaldo, no Messi
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s dream of participating in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup was dashed after the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League with Monterrey on Wednesday morning (Hanoi time).
The new version of the club tournament is organized by FIFA with 32 participating teams from next year, increasing the amount of prize money and related income.
Cristiano Ronaldo soon missed his appointment when Al-Nassr failed in the AFC Champions League , now it’s Messi’s turn to be absent.
The fact that Ronaldo and Messi – who won a total of 13 Golden Balls – did not participate significantly reduced the commercial value of the tournament.
The possibility of both participating in the future Club World Cup is also very small. Cristiano turned 39 years old 2 months ago. Messi will celebrate his 37th birthday on June 24, while the next edition will only take place in 2029.
Messi and Inter Miami arrived at BBVA Stadium – nicknamed “El Gigante de Acero” (Steel Giant), in Guadalupe, Mexico, one of the venues hosting the 2026 World Cup – with the disadvantage of losing 1-2 in the first leg.
To reach the semi-finals, Inter Miami had to turn the situation around against the Mexican football giant, with 53,500 spectators creating an oppressive atmosphere (tickets were sold out a few weeks earlier).
Attack on Tata Martino
Fans came to the stadium not to watch Messi like American audiences, but to boo him. Coach Tata Martino is even more criticized.
Mexican fans – as well as some national players – believe that he was the reason the home team was eliminated early at the 2022 World Cup, when he intentionally conceded to Argentina (winning 2-0).
“There has never been a good connection between coaching staff and players. They treated us like little children. In my opinion, some of his decisions are not correct,” Hirving Lozano (PSV) criticized.
Edson Alvarez, leader of the Mexican midfield and currently playing for West Ham, declared before Monterrey hosted Inter Miami : “When playing against Poland, everything still went well. The match against Argentina came and he acted like a stranger, as if he had never worked with us.”
Under great pressure from the stands, even though Tata Martino had the best team, with the striker pair Messi – Luis Suarez, the representative from Florida could not turn the situation around.
The away team’s defensive counter-attacking style and basic mistakes helped Monterrey win easily 3-1 (5-2 overall), while Inter Miami left the field with 10 people because Jordi Alba received 2 yellow cards.
Monterrey and Mexican fans successfully collected Tata Martino’s debt, while a disillusioned Messi showed himself at FIFA Club World.
Messi scored a masterpiece just 12 minutes after returning to Inter Miami
Lionel Messi shined after coming on as a substitute, unfortunately Inter Miami let Colorado draw 2-2 in round 7 of MLS.
Ronaldo received a red card, Al Nassr was eliminated from the Saudi Super Cup by Al Hilal
Cristiano Ronaldo received a red card near the end of the match, Al Nassr lost 1-2 to Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup semi-finals, early morning of April 9.
Close-up of Ronaldo trying to punch the referee when he was sent off the field
Cristiano Ronaldo acted without restraint, leading to a direct red card. Not only that, CR7 also raised his fist to aim at the referee.
