Messi hits out at FAKE NEWS over Inter Miami signing

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 2 Mar 2024 22:02 GMT
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi has branded rumours that his son Mateo has signed for Inter Miami’s academy as fake news.

Messi has been with the MLS outfit since August and is embarking on his first full season in the USA, grabbing his first goal of the campaign against LA Galaxy earlier this week.

On the eve of a home clash against Orlando City, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has been forced to reject quotes attributed to him claiming that has son has followed in his footsteps by signing for David Beckham’s franchise.

READ MORE: Lionel Messi at Inter Miami: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2024

“There are several academies in America who wanted to recruit my son Mateo, but I registered him in Miami. He has talent and I think he has a style of play similar to mine when I was young,” Mercado Deportivo Argentina claimed Messi had said.

After the Instagram post received over 15,000 likes, the Barcelona legend was prompted to respond.

“This is false, I absolutely never said that,” he said.

READ MORE: Latest Barcelona transfer rumours

Will Mateo Messi become a professional footballer?

Messi has previously indicated that he will never push his sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, into following him into professional football.

In a recent interview with Apple TV+, the Inter Miami attacker said: “On the one hand, I would like them to love football and continue. On the other, I know that it’s a very difficult sport and not everyone has the opportunity and the luck to become a professional player.”

Messi is expected to return to action against Orland City on Saturday, with Inter Miami seeking to maintain a winning start at home.

The Argentine will move into outright third in Inter Miami’s all-time leading goal scorers if he bags a goal in the encounter, having scored 12 in 16 outings for the Storks since signing last summer.

Messi, meanwhile, was caught in the crossfire of controversy regarding Kim Kardashian's son Saint West walked out with the legend before the recent cllash with LA Galaxy.