Dallas FC owner, Dan Hunt, revealed that Lionel Messi inspired the United States national team players. Lionel Messi was named the best athlete of 2023 by TIME magazine on Tuesday (5/12/2023). Several of Lionel Messi’s colleagues expressed the megastar’s impact on the Major League Soccer (MLS) competition and United States football. One of them is FC Dallas President, Dan Hunt.
He said that Messi’s presence at Inter Miami inspired American footballers. “This is one of the important moments. Our number of players from 17 to 35 is the best players we have ever had in the history of US soccer,” said Hunt. “If you think about our list of players from 0 to 16, it will be twice as good, because we have Messi to inspire them,” said Dan Hunt.
Apart from that, Dan Hunt also revealed that Messi’s arrival was also a magnet for other footballers. “We’re having conversations with people that wouldn’t have even been possible five years ago and I know we’re not the only ones,” added Dan Hunt.
The young Inter Miami player and captain of the United States U17 national team at the 2023 U17 World Cup, Tyler Hall, had the opportunity to train with Messi. Tyler Hall said that Messi is very approachable and gets along well with Inter Miami’s young players.
“He is a very approachable man. He always smiles and always shakes my hand,” said Hall, quoted from the FIFA website. “He is a great guy and very good with all the young players,” Hall added.
Not only training together, Messi also gives advice to young players. “One of the greatest things I ever heard from one of our academy players, in an interview, he was asked, ‘Has Leo given you any advice since he arrived? And his advice was ‘Walk more,'” said Inter Miami owner David Beckham . “Walk more in the game. Because you see more. That’s what makes Leo great,” said the former Manchester United player.
In addition, Messi is also a humble figure after trying to mingle with other players at Inter Miami. Inter Miami player, DeAndre Yedlin, revealed that Messi chose to join the team’s WhatsApp group. When he entered the Inter Miami WhatsApp group, Messi even provided assistance to his teammate, Leonardo Campana. Messi reached out to Leonardo Campana to get a ticket to present himself as a new Inter Miami player. “He just wanted to be part of the group,” Yedlin said.
