Inter Miami's Julian Gressel shared some insight about the standards and mentality Lionel Messi brought to the Herons' locker room.
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Messi joined Major League Soccer in the summer of 2023 and immediately helped Inter Miami win Leagues Cup 2023, the club's first major trophy. Former Barcelona teammates Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba soon joined him in the United States, and the Herons went on to achieve the best regular season in MLS history, collecting the Supporters' Shield with a record-breaking 74 points in 2024.
Accomplishing such a feat does not come without a winner's mindset, and Gressel revealed just how determined Messi was to collect three points from every game Inter Miami played.
"It's demanding [playing with Messi]. You're talking about the player with the most wins in the history of the game," Gressel said on the Major League Journeymen podcast. "They're coming in and they're expecting the same, and you as a teammate, you kind of have to get accustomed to that and get used to that with Messi, Suárez, Busquets and Alba."
Gressel went on to share a memory after Inter Miami only managed a draw earlier in the 2024 season. "It's unacceptable to tie a game, as simple as that," he said. "We tied a game earlier in the year and I remember [Messi] being really really upset in the locker room. He's like, 'We shouldn't tie, we can't tie.'"
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Even Inter Miami's former manager Gerardo 'Tati' Martino reportedly told the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, "It's OK to draw sometimes. We can't just win everything, it's not how this league works."
"But for [Messi], his aura is that," Gressel said.
Despite Inter Miami recording a 22W-8D-4L record in the regular season, they could not get past the opening round of MLS Cup playoffs against an inferior opponent in Atlanta United. After winning the first game of a best-of-three series, the Herons suffered back-to-back defeats, ending their season much earlier than anyone expected.
"After the loss, the guys were distraught in the locker room," Gressel said. "You have everybody kind of staring into nothing. You just sit in the quiet and kind of in disbelief, but also very hesitant too, like, 'Whoa, like, what just happened.'"
Martino later parted ways with the club due to personal reasons, leaving the Herons in a state of uncertainty. The good news for Inter Miami fans is Messi's talent and winning standards are not going anywhere.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Miami Midfielder Reveals Lionel Messi Declared Ties 'Unacceptable'.
