Lionel Messi's Inter Miami vs FC Dallas live updates: Leagues Cup ...

He wasn’t even supposed to be on the pitch. It was his older brother’s game. They were a player short. Salvador Aparicio looked over at the stands and saw a small boy playing by himself, in private communion with the ball. When he asked his mother if he could borrow him, she said he didn’t know how to play football.

“He controlled the ball and took off diagonally across the middle of the pitch, dribbling,” said Aparicio. “He dribbled past anyone in his path.”

There’s a video of the coach telling this story as an old man, fluttering his hand like a fish whipping through water. Then he stops talking and pulls a face that can only be described as a kind of shrug, as though even at the end of his life he was still struggling to accept the cosmic logic of what came next.

“I was screaming, ‘Shoot! Shoot!’” Aparicio said. “But he couldn’t do it. He was too small.”

The greatest player ever to kick a ball wasn’t ready to do the thing he was put on this Earth to do. The gift was there even before his left foot was.

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Dallas’ star player is Jesus Ferreira, son of former club icon David Ferreira.

Ferreira was Dallas’ sole representative at the recent All-Stars game against Arsenal, which was perhaps slightly harsh on goalkeeper Maarten Paes.

Ferreira is a striker with a fearsome strike rate, scoring 15 goals in 23 appearances for the USMNT having opted to represent the country over his birth instead of his Colombia.

The 22-year old is similarly prolific in the MLS with 10 goals in 18 games so far this season.

Ferreira is one of the club’s two confirmed DPs, the other being Alan Velaco, their record signing.

New arrival Asier Illarramendi is without a doubt the biggest name player on the FC Dallas roster to a global football fan having made just shy of 300 appearances in La Liga. He is expected to take the third DP spot.

Lionel Messi's contract details are yet to be fully revealed, but if we take the lowest possible salary estimate of around $50million, Messi is still BY FAR the best paid player in the MLS, earning 100 times more than the average amount in the league.

From the most recent accounts of the MLS Players Association released May 2023, the top 10 highest paid players are:

*Araujo has subsequently left MLS, joining Brazilian side Flamengo.

**Zelarayan has subsequently left MLS, joining Saudi Arabian side Al-Fateh.

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There are two types of contract in Major League Soccer, those being normal contracts and Designated Player contracts.

The Designated Player contract was introduced in 2007, facilitating the arrival of David Beckham... and virtually every other high profile MLS player since.

Normal contracts count towards the ‘salary cap’ which is set at $5,210,000 per team for this season, but Designated Players do not. But each team is ordinarily limited to just three of these contracts.

Inter Miami have their three slots filled by: Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Leonardo Campana.

As he is not a DP, Jordi Alba’s contract counts towards the salary cap that needs to provide for the rest of the squad.

FC Dallas announced on Thursday they had signed Asier Illarramendi, Real Sociedad’s long-term captain who, alongside David Silva, guided his boyhood club into next season’s Champions League.

Illarramendi had spent the entirety of his career with Real Sociedad, with the notable exception of two years with Real Madrid where he made 90 appearances and won the Champions League following a £27million ($35m) move.

The former Spain international has signed a contract until the end of the season, with an option to extend.

Messi reportedly turned down a three year contract with Al-Hilal said to be worth $500m per season, to join Inter Miami for around 10% of that salary, including the value of his equity in Inter Miami, which will activate after his time with the club.

Additionally, the Argentinian World Cup winner will also receive income through MLS partners such as Apple TV, Adidas and Fanatics.com.

These deals will not be reflected in his base salary which will be revealed, like it is for all players, by the MLS Players' Association — as they did most recently in May.

With Messi already joined by Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has admitted that his side could also make a move for another former Barcelona star in Luis Suarez.

Suarez’s current club, Gremio in Brazil, confirmed earlier this week that they will allow the veteran forward to leave the club in December, ending his deal a year early.

Suarez, now 36, has struggled with a chronic knee issue since joining. On the announcement of his departure he stated: “I feel that next year I will not be able to perform due to my fitness and the high demands of the Brazilian championship."

The Uruguayan continued to say he “doesn't know” if he will continue to play, but would like to retire alongside Messi.

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Gremio agree to end Luis Suarez contract early but claims no contact from Inter Miami

The Leagues Cup is a new ‘World Cup-style’ midseason tournament involving all 47 teams from MLS and Liga MX. Here are the key details:

Due to MLS’s single-entity structure, players sign contracts with the league, not individual teams.

But unlike normal MLS contracts, Messi’s has not been a simple matter. For a legendary player and a potentially league-altering signing, MLS and Inter Miami got creative with compensation to ensure he wasn’t lured to Saudi Arabia.

Messi’s contract includes the option to purchase an equity stake in Inter Miami, and part of the deal also necessitates discussions with Apple regarding revenue share on new subscriptions for the MLS Season Pass service. A source briefed on the negotiations said the Apple deal will be based on revenue driven by new international subscribers.

There has also been the structure of the compensation itself, the tax implications of how the contract is drawn up, as well as things like marketing and image rights. Those negotiations go down to granular levels, like which entities own rights to Messi’s name and the No. 10 for use on different products, for example.

To mark Messi’s move to Miami, we’ve created a special three-part audio series titled ‘The Making of Messi’ telling the journey of how all roads ended up pointing to Florida.

As well as his on-field ups and downs, we chart his complex relationship with his country Argentina and explain the nuances of the unique deal that brought him to Miami — from equity to shirt sales to Saudi Arabia.

It features James Horncastle at his lyrical best, Michael Cox with his unrivalled tactical insight and Felipe Cardenas and Paul Tenorio’s local expertise as we get to the heart of what makes Messi tick on and off the pitch.

Listen for free now:

... or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for 'The Making of Messi' or ‘Go Deeper’ for more of The Athletic's podcast documentaries.

No matter where you are in the world, there is only one official streaming option available for today’s game: MLS Pass on Apple TV.

Get in touch in the discussion tab and let us know where in the world you will be watching from.

Hello and welcome to The Athletic’s live coverage of today’s Leagues Cup round of 16 clash between FC Dallas and Inter Miami.

In addition to coverage of the game we will also be bringing you all the build-up, team news and post-match reaction straight from Texas.

Lionel Messi has lit up the tournament since his arrival in Miami, scoring five goals and assisting another in just three matches.

Since Messi’s arrival, Inter Miami have defeated Mexican side Cruz Azul and MLS sides Atlanta United and Orlando City, who sit above them in MLS.

If Inter Miami win, they will face the winner of Houston Dynamo vs Charlotte FC for a place in the final four.