Inter Miami will celebrate the signing of Lionel Messi on Sunday but will do so after their winless run extended to 11 games with a 3-0 defeat at St. Louis City on Saturday, leaving them rock bottom of Major League Soccer.
Miami confirmed the arrival of Messi hours before their game kicked off in Missouri, but that couldn't inspire Gerardo Martino's team to victory as they suffered their 14th defeat in 22 games. Miami are bottom of the Eastern Conference and their latest loss also left them in last place in the overall standings - 29th of 29 clubs.
That leaves Messi, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner and Argentina World Cup hero, playing for officially the worst team in MLS. Fortunately for the club and their new star, MLS does not, like most leagues in the world, have relegation. But Messi will need to have a transformational impact on the field if the club are to make a push towards the playoffs.
Messi has been expected to make his debut on Friday against Cruz Azul in the new Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring all the top-flight teams from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX. MLS is suspending its play for a month while the Leagues Cup is played, meaning the 36-year-old former Barcelona star won't have a chance to start helping Miami up the league table until they host Charlotte on August 20th.
But while the move has excited fans and gives Miami and MLS a chance to grow their popularity and revenue, the Florida club clearly hope that Messi will be able to raise the levels of his teammates.
"Lionel Messi is an incomparable talent. What he brings on and off the field will elevate everyone around him and we're excited to have him at Inter Miami," the club's Sporting Director Chris Henderson said on Saturday.
There was nothing exciting about Miami's performance in St. Louis, however, with the home side taking the lead in the 28th minute thanks to a header from a corner buried by Samuel Adeniran.
St. Louis, top of the Western Conference in their debut season, made it 2-0 five minutes before the break, with Miami again unable to defend a corner as Tim Parker glanced in a header at the near post. German Eduard Loewen completed Miami's misery with a thundering free-kick, 10 minutes from the end.