FIFA have announced that Lionel Messi‘s Inter Miami will join Chelsea in next summer’s Club World Cup.
The MLS club, owned by Manchester United legend David Beckham, have been handed a spot after winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield, which is given to the club with the best record in the regular season. Miami are currently top of the Eastern Conference and are managed by former Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino.
Messi arrived Stateside in July 2023 and signed a two-and-a-half-year deal where he is paid between $50million (£38m) and $60m a year. The legendary Argentine has scored 30 goals and provided 17 assists so far for Miami across all competitions.
And it has been announced that Messi will be part of a revamped Club World Cup, featuring 32 teams. Others stars to play for Miami include former Liverpool and Barcelona forward Luis Suarez as well as ex-Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets.
“You have shown that in the United States, you are consistently the best club on the field of play,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said. “Therefore, I am proud to announce that as one of the best clubs in the world, you are deserved participants in the new Fifa Club World Cup 2025.”
The standard route to qualifying is winning at least one of the previous four continental club competitions. Chelsea qualified after winning the Champions League in 2021 and will join Real Madrid and Manchester City via this route.
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Another way to qualify is to be among the highest-ranked clubs in UEFA’s coefficient over the past four years. Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus are among the other clubs to qualify this way.
The tournament will take place between June 25 and July 13 across 11 host cities in America.
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