How to watch Messi, free stream link

On January 19, 2025By Littum

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will begin their MLS pre-season preparations in earnest on Saturday with a friendly against Mexican giants Club América played in Las Vegas.

This high-profile preseason game will be Miami’s first step into the spotlight under new coach Javier Mascherano, adding an element of intrigue for a team that will see 2024 as a mixed bag. The Herons won the MLS Supporters’ Shield as the league’s regular season champion, but lost at the first hurdle in the playoffs. It followed a pattern that in knockout games a team with Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba was ultimately too vulnerable at the back to win the biggest games.

Miami won’t face regular season play in MLS until February 22, and their first game of consequence (a Concacaf Champions Cup first-round clash with Sporting Kansas City) is exactly one month away. That makes a test against América – winners of the past three Liga MX championships – crucial to get going next month.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of Inter Miami’s first preseason game of 2025, including time, date and how to watch.

How to watch Inter Miami vs. Club America: Time, TV, Streaming

The MLS preseason friendly between Inter Miami and Club América in Liga MX is set to take place on Saturday, January 18, with the star-studded teams meeting at Allegiant Stadium just outside of Las Vegas. The game can be streamed for free on Apple TV.

Date: Saturday 18 January
Time: 10:00 PM ET (7:00 PM PT)
TV: None
Streaming: Apple TV
Location: Allegiant Stadium (Paradise, Nevada)

Inter Miami vs. Club América starting lineups

Is Messi still playing for Inter Miami?

Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in soccer history, will play for Inter Miami in the 2025 MLS season. However, there are no guarantees after that as Messi’s two-and-a-half-year contract, announced back in July 2023, expires at the end of the 2025 season.

It is a focal point for Miami, MLS and Messi, who turns 38 this summer. From Messi’s perspective, he has been able to dominate the league as expected: the former Barcelona star has scored 34 goals and added 18 assists in a total of 39 appearances across all competitions and won the MVP award last season. It’s not the largest sample size, but no player in MLS history has comparable numbers over the same span.

On the other hand, Messi’s overall performance would be much higher if not for some persistent injuries and non-league commitments. Messi has missed 21 games in the same period due to thigh and ankle problems, not to mention international duty for 2022 World Cup champions Argentina. That could give him pause as to how much longer he wants to play — especially with the big travel demands in place with Miami, which will participate in the upcoming Club World Cup — and could affect the offer the team wants to make.

Club owner Jorge Mas has said he is personally handling negotiations for a contract extension. Beyond the obvious cache of the world’s most famous player suiting up for the Herons, Miami has a financial incentive to keep Messi in the fold. The club has a stadium under construction in Miami, with Freedom Park set to open in 2026. That should boost Inter Miami’s stature, as the club’s current home ground, Chase Stadium, is a temporary venue built in Fort Lauderdale.

Finally, MLS also sees 2026 as a massive year. The thinking is that the 2026 World Cup will raise the profile of soccer in the United States, as it did after the 1994 World Cup. MLS will not have the option of simply signing another Messi if the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner retires or finds another club.

How did the 2024 Inter Miami MLS season go?

Inter Miami had a lot of positives to take from the 2024 MLS season. The club won its first truly major trophy and brought home the Supporters’ Shield (given to the top team in the MLS regular season standings). Lionel Messi won the league’s MVP award, and the Herons’ total of 74 points set a new league record for points in a single season. It was, by all accounts, one of the best seasons an MLS team has ever had.

However, the defining memory may be three poor results in knockout games. In April, Miami lost home and away to Mexican powerhouse CF Monterrey and crashed out of the Concacaf Champions Cup in the quarterfinals. Four months later in the Leagues Cup, the Columbus Crew trailed by two with just 23 minutes to play, only to eliminate Miami by coming back to win 3-2.

Most of all, a playoff upset looms for the ages. Miami entered the MLS playoffs having lost just once in its last 17 regular-season games, facing an Atlanta United team that had to survive incredible drama just to claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Miami won the opening game of a best-of-three series as expected, but lost games two and three (despite taking a lead in both of those games).

A bit of a departure geographically, Saturday’s game for Inter Miami will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. It is home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

Inter Miami’s “The Americans Preseason Tour” begins in Las Vegas when Inter Miami plays Mexican champions Club America at Allegiant Stadium on January 18.

Inter Miami will face Peruvian side Club Universitario de Deportes, the country’s first division back-to-back champions, at the Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru on January 29.

Four days later, Inter Miami will face Sporting San Miguelito at the Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez in Panama City, Panama on February 2. —Safid Deen

Jack McGlynn, Patrick Agyemang and Matko Miljevic will never forget their first.

The three U.S. men’s international players scored the first international goals of their young careers Saturday, in a 3-1 win over Venezuela, during a friendly played in front of 18,008 people at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium on Saturday. —Safid Deen

It was an effective day at the office for the club and new coach Maurico Pochettino, who improved to 4-1 since taking over last September for former coach Gregg Berhalter.

“Today we saw not only good players and a good performance, we played as a team,” Pochettino said after the match. “We are so happy.” —Safid Deen