'You probably wouldn't deem it a success' - Yedlin on Messi's maiden MLS season

Stuart Telford

Updated: 10 Oct 2023 10:54 CDT
3 min read

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami teammate DeAndre Yedlin — © ProShots

Lionel Messi fired Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup in his first season in the USA, but teammate and USMNT right-back DeAndre Yedlin thinks they could have achieved more.

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Messi spurned the advances of Barcelona and the Saudi Pro League to join the David Beckham-backed franchise on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in July, and hit the ground running in Florida.

The Argentine legend - perhaps the greatest player of all time - hit 11 goals and five assists from just 13 games in all competitions, firing his side to the inaugural Leagues Cup title with victory over Nashville in the final.

READ: Lionel Messi at Inter Miami: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2023

But he subsequently suffered a hamstring injury, and missed Inter's last four games - three of which ended in defeat - to leave them knocked out of the US Open Cup and eliminated from the MLS Open Cup Playoffs.

Yedlin thinks Inter could and should have achieved more.

Inter Miami won their first-ever trophy last night.

Of course Messi scored a beauty. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/oYaF68OLzE
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 20, 2023

Yedlin would have taken the Leagues Cup in June

"If you were to say in June that we’re going to end the season with a trophy, you'd probably deem it a success," said the former Newcastle defender.

"But after July, if you're to say you're going to end with only one trophy, you probably wouldn't deem it a success. It's how you look at it. As professionals, we want to win everything.

READ: Messi will sign with Barcelona in January on ONE condition

"So, for me, it's not a success. We won the first trophy in club history, and that's great, but we could have won the Open Cup and wanted more from the play-offs."

Messi has since been linked with a loan return to Barca with the MLS regular season not kicking off again until February.

Tata Martino claims to know nothing about such a proposal, but Beckham himself set the precedent when he was with L.A. Galaxy, spending two periods on loan with AC Milan - in 2009 and 2010 - when on the books of the MLS club.