{"id":37725,"date":"2024-12-03T01:54:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T22:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=37725"},"modified":"2024-12-03T01:54:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T22:54:38","slug":"did-messi-influence-inter-miamis-decision-to-sign-mascherano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/did-messi-influence-inter-miamis-decision-to-sign-mascherano\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Messi Influence Inter Miami’s Decision to Sign Mascherano?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After Tata Martino\u2019s departure from Inter Miami, speculation about the club\u2019s next head coach quickly centered on two names connected to Lionel Messi: Xavi Hernandez and Javier Mascherano, both former teammates of the Argentine star.<\/div>\n
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According to The Athletic, it was widely assumed that Miami would seek someone who would please Messi, with the legend undoubtedly having a say in the selection. Days after Martino\u2019s exit, Mascherano was appointed.<\/div>\n
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If there were any doubts about Messi\u2019s influence, club owner Jorge Mas dispelled them during a press conference addressing Martino\u2019s departure.<\/div>\n
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“I had a specific conversation with him… I asked Leo for his input, and he provided it. That was Leo\u2019s involvement, which, honestly, happens all the time,” said Mas.<\/div>\n
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He added that he regularly consults senior players in the locker room for their insights on improving the organization. While rare in global football, players influencing managerial appointments is not unprecedented. Messi himself has faced similar claims, notably during his time at Barcelona.<\/div>\n
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When Martino was appointed Barca coach in 2013, speculation arose about Messi\u2019s role in the decision. Martino himself commented at the time:<\/div>\n
“I\u2019m not sure of the specifics, but I have no doubt that Jorge [Messi\u2019s father] and Lionel had some influence. They were likely consulted, leading to this outcome.”<\/div>\n
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Messi and Barcelona\u2019s then-sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta denied any involvement. In Miami, however, Jorge Mas chose not to dismiss the notion of Messi\u2019s influence.<\/div>\n
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Far from surprising, Messi\u2019s influence on such decisions should be seen as a natural extension of his stature. While football often adheres to the idea that no player is bigger than the team, exceptions are made for players of Messi\u2019s caliber.<\/div>\n
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Messi is more than just a player for Miami. As part of his transfer to Major League Soccer, he secured an ownership stake in the organization, which could take effect after his playing days. His global brand has elevated Inter Miami\u2019s profile and commercial value to unprecedented levels.<\/div>\n
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Ignoring Messi\u2019s influence would overlook the realities of his impact.<\/div>\n
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While rare, Messi isn\u2019t the only star to shape managerial decisions. In 2022, ESPN reported that Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 influenced Paris Saint-Germain\u2019s decision to part ways with sporting director Leonardo as part of his contract renewal.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Tata Martino\u2019s departure from Inter Miami, speculation about the club\u2019s next head coach quickly centered on two names connected to Lionel Messi: Xavi Hernandez and Javier Mascherano, both former teammates of the Argentine star. According to The Athletic, it was widely assumed that Miami would seek someone who would please Messi, with the legend …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37726,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37725\/revisions\/37726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}