Lionel Messi makes Toronto trip as soccer fans ‘hope to see’ superstar play | Globalnews.ca

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi has made the trip to Canada’s largest city as his Inter Miami gets ready to play Toronto FC.

Saturday’s match will be Messi’s first appearance in the city since joining the Major League Soccer (MLS) club last year.

Tickets for the game are selling at a premium, but with the MLS regular season coming to a close, it’s unclear if Toronto fans will witness one of soccer’s greatest-ever players in action come kick-off.

“Hope to see Messi play!” wrote X user @vwgiannoudis on Thursday.

“Have bought tickets to the game. Has been a dream of mine for many years to see him play. The fans in Toronto are very excited.”

Messi’s game in Toronto comes at a busy time in both the domestic and international soccer schedule.

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Messi, 37, is expected to play for Argentina in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches on Oct. 10 and Oct. 15. Afterwards, he’ll fly back to the United States for Miami’s Oct. 19 game against New England.

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There is something to play for in those final two regular season games before the playoffs begin; if Miami wins its games against Toronto and New England, it could finish the season with 74 points, which would break New England’s record of 73 set in 2021.

That being said, Messi and company did claim the Supporters Shield on Wednesday — the trophy given to the top regular-season team in MLS.

“I’m happy,” Messi said after Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over Columbus Crew, a game in which he scored twice.

“Happy for this group.”

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After joining the club last year, Messi helped secured Inter Miami’s first piece of silverware – the 2023 Leagues Cup; however, Inter Miami missed the MLS playoffs last year.

While fans in Montreal were treated to his first appearance on Canadian soil on May 11, fans in Vancouver were snubbed.

Inter Miami played Vancouver Whitecaps FC on May 25, and fans were told two days before the match Messi and other star players wouldn’t be showing up.

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As a result, a B.C. soccer fan filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the Whitecaps and the MLS over an alleged “bait-and-switch” strategy used to promote the game. Thousands of fans signed a petition calling on the Whitecaps to issue a refund for the match.

The club told Global News in June it “acted immediately to communicate the news to ticket holders” on the May 25 statement, and promised fans complimentary tickets for a future 2024 Whitecaps home game. The MLS also said it was aware of the filing, and would not be commenting.

Whether Messi starts in Toronto or comes on as a substitute remains to be seen, but Inter Miami shared photos of him and other players on social media making the flight to Toronto.

Kick-off is set for 4 p.m. Eastern.

— with files from Global News’ Chaimae Chouiekh and The Associated Press

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