Lionel Messi, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, will play at Gillette Stadium Friday night.
Messi is included in Inter Miami’s lineup for Saturday night’s league game against the New England Revolution. The Argentine has won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was named the world’s best player for a record eight times by FIFA.
The last time Messi came to Foxborough was in 2016, when nearly 60,000 people saw the Argentina national football team defeat Venezuela, 4-1, in the Copa América Centenario quarterfinals.
Messi played most of his career with Barcelona from 2004 to 2021, before moving to France to play with Paris Saint-Germain for two seasons. He came to the United States and joined Inter Miami in the middle of last season.
Messi’s inclusion in the lineup was not a guarantee because of his perceived unwillingness to play on artificial turf fields.
The Argentine has previously dismissed concerns over his availability in games played on artificial turf fields in the MLS, and last season he played an entire match on artificial turf when Inter Miami faced Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium.
Miami is currently sits in first place in the Eastern Conference standings through ten league matches, while New England is in last place. Messi leads Miami in goals scored with seven and assists with six.
During home games this year, the Revolution have averaged 23,940 fans in attendance. For Saturday’s game, as of Friday, over 64,000 tickets had been sold for the match.