Newly unveiled Inter Miami player, Lionel Messi has participated in his first training session with the Major League Side team.
The Argentine World Cup champion began training at the club’s facility at 9:00am local time, amidst temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
Messi, along with his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, who recently joined Miami, received a warm welcome from his new team in the form of a tunnel reception.
Messi and Busquets crossed the “tunnel” to cheers and pats on the back from the other players as they lined up across from each other.
Over 200 media members who attended the session observed Messi conversing with Venezuelan international Josef Martinez, who would likely be his strike partner for Miami, while he performed some simple drills in front of them.
Prior to Messi’s arrival, the media seldom attended a double digit number of Miami’s training sessions.
His first game is set for Friday. Messi was introduced to the club’s fans at the stadium on Sunday during a festive ceremony with co-owner of Miami David Beckham.
The inaugural match of the new Leagues Cup, a tournament-style competition that pits all top-flight teams from the MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX against one another, features Miami, who are currently last among the 29 teams in the MLS, against Mexican side Cruz Azul.
