Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami and MLS will be judged on impact of

Washington, D.C. — Success in sports can be measured in many ways and you’ll never find a higher stakes example of that than Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami. Wins and losses are a clear metric as well as silverware but in team sports, sometimes that isn’t the case especially when a player move can be a seismic one even on a bad team. This is where Miami fit in as they will be at the bottom of the Eastern Conference when Messi takes the pitch with his debut, expected to be on Friday in Leagues Cup against Cruz Azul.

Joining after scoring 16 goals and assisting 16 more for PSG last season en route to winning the Ligue 1 title and after also winning the World Cup with Argentina, there’s no question on if Messi can produce within MLS. It’s a league that favors attacking players and even as Messi ages, his vision and mind for how things develop in front of him will ensure that he is able to create chances and score goals as long as he’d like to. 

Due to the Herons being 12 points off of a playoff place, there’s a chance not only that Messi’s inaugural season could end without a trophy to show for it but it could also end without the team even making the playoffs. Because of that, at least for this season, Messi’s arrival can’t be judged solely on how many wins he leads the team to.