The Inter Miami decision Messi knew before anyone else | OneFootball

Lionel Messi is, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest athlete to ever kick a ball. Yes, that transcends to other sports as well. The little boy from Rosario, Argentina, has changed the standards of natural talent.

And look, MLS fans might be starting to dispute this fact. Nobody can blame them, after all, Messi hasn't justified his huge price tag since playing in the States. If anything, his failure to show up in recent times highlights other talented players in MLS.

But despite not living up to the price tag, nobody can deny the difference he's made in Miami, Florida. Inter Miami, as a club, is built on Messi. Without him, they would be withering away into nothingness.

One professional who doesn't get nearly enough credit for rebuilding Inter Miami is Tata Martino. A good friend to Lionel Messi, Martino unfortunately stepped away from Inter Miami.

Lionel Messi knew about Tata Martino's Inter Miami departure first

In a recent interview brought to light by The Athletic, Tata Martino shared that when he left Inter Miami, Lionel Messi was the first person to hear about his decision.

In his own words, Martino said: “I called Leo and told him I had a personal need to be in Rosario, that the first half of the year was going to be complicated for me."

"Once I explained that it wasn’t a health issue, that it was just a very difficult personal matter behind my decision, he felt more at ease — with the necessary discretion. It wasn’t something to discuss in detail, just to communicate a decision. After that, I went through it with the club’s leadership and then with the players.”

Martino didn't reveal the exact reason why he left Inter Miami, but he did put any remaining speculation that he'd fallen out of love with the club to bed. Instead, he reiterated that a personal matter, which needn't be disclosed, was key to his decision-making.

And Messi understood that.

This season, Javier Mascherano, who Messi knows from both his Barcelona and Argentina days, is in charge of Inter Miami. It's fair to say that after they broke records last season, it hasn't been the same since then.

Right now, Inter Miami is sixth in the Eastern Conference. They are within touching distance of a Final Series place, so they could still have a strong end to the season.