Rooney predicts tough days for Messi in MLS

Major League Soccer may not be the Premier League or Ligue 1.

Still, DC United head coach – and Manchester United legend – Wayne Rooney warned Lionel Messi that it will not be a cakewalk playing in the United States’ top soccer league.

Rooney commented during an interview with The Times of London, published on Sunday, the same day Messi was being introduced at an event at Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium. Messi announced he was coming to MLS in early June and the signing became official on Saturday.

“Everything is set for him,” Rooney said. “He’s got all his mates over! [Sergio] Busquets and Jordi Alba have signed for Inter Miami and maybe [Andres] Iniesta will join them. Luis Suarez too. Messi has a coach [Inter Miami manager Tata Martino] he likes and trusts. It’s huge, especially with what’s going on in Saudi, for the MLS to attract Messi.

“He won’t find it easy here. It sounds mad, but players who come in find it’s a tough league. The traveling, the different conditions in different cities, and there’s a lot of energy and intensity on the pitch.”

Rooney is quite familiar with the transition that Messi is about to go through, having made the move to MLS in 2018 to play for DC United.

He came to the US after playing 14 seasons with Manchester United and appeared in 52 games for the MLS side between 2018 and 2020.

Rooney took over as DC United’s head coach in July 2022.

Messi’s arrival in the United States has been viewed as a major coup for MLS after the global superstar turned down an incredibly lucrative offer to play in Saudi Arabia.

The Argentine forward has been seen quite a bit around Miami over the last few days.

Inter Miami has seen skyrocketing demand for tickets and their social media following has exploded.

And that buzz has gone beyond just the team, according to Tim Petrillo, CEO of The Restaurant People.

The South Florida businessman told the Daily Mail that he had never seen anything like what has gone on since Messi announced he’d be coming to the area.

“We started seeing impacts when he came to visit Fort Lauderdale after the World Cup, way before it was even announced, on vacation, and there was a buzz that he was even in town,” Petrillo said.

 “I’ve been through LeBron coming to South Florida, Shaq [O’Neal] coming, all these iconic athletes, which were great but there is nowhere near the impact of an international, global superstar like Messi. There’s a buzz that I have never seen in South Florida around a superstar like this.”

Messi heads to Inter Miami after two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain.

His first game with his new club will be on July 21 at DRV PNK Stadium.