Messi to play in Miami finale

Lionel Messi says he will play in Inter Miami's season finale on Saturday, although the club hasn't confirmed that is the actual plan.

Messi — who scored two goals for Argentina in its 2-0 World Cup qualifying win at Peru on Tuesday night — wasn't in the lineup for Inter Miami's final home game of its Major League Soccer season against Charlotte on Wednesday night.

Messi, dressed casually in a white T-shirt, was in the Inter Miami bench area with his teammates for Wednesday's match after returning from Peru earlier in the day.

Not playing on Wednesday was expected. This part was not: Messi told reporters in Peru that he wants to play once more for Inter Miami before his inaugural MLS season ends, which means he's intending to play in Charlotte on Saturday — even though that match will be played on artificial turf.

"I'll play the game that is left now," Messi said.

Inter Miami was eliminated from MLS playoff contention earlier this month. Coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino said earlier this week that there was "a chance" Messi could play Saturday, and that the team would evaluate where he's at physically upon his return to Miami following the qualifying games with Argentina.

Even the hope of Messi playing seems to be a big boost to ticket sales. Charlotte has sold more than 60,000 tickets in its 74,000-seat stadium for Saturday's match.

Inter Miami's home finale came on the same day the MLS Players Association revealed that Messi's annualized compensation from his MLS contract with the team is just over $20.4 million. That's more than the entire payroll of all but three other MLS teams and twice as much as every player combined on Orlando City.

Agencies via Xinhua