Messi during training

Beckham’s American Professional League (MLS) team, which ended the season in second place from bottom in the West, will not continue with its planned tour to China this month.

Initially, Lionel Messi was expected to return to China for the second time this year, after he played there with Argentina following their FIFA World Cup victory against Australia. Last month, Inter Miami announced a tour in which they will face Qingdao Hainiu FC and Chengdu Rongcheng.

However, Beckham’s team just released a cancellation notice without explaining the reason. The club only revealed that there will be further efforts to bring Messi’s team before a global audience in the near future.

The 2023 Golden Ball and co-owner Beckham’s team canceled their China tour. Photo: GETTY.

“Tour organizer NSN has informed Inter Miami of the cancellation of the tour to China due to unexpected circumstances in this country. Inter Miami’s ambition remains to expand its global presence by competing playing in front of great fans from all over the world. The club will continue to explore future opportunities with NSN to achieve this goal” – Inter Miami said.

This announcement comes just one day after Messi received his record 8th Golden Ball award as the best player in the world in the 2022-2023 season.

As such, the 36-year-old star is about to take an extended break ahead of next year’s 2024 MLS season. The club and Lionel Messi himself have also rejected many offers to join other teams on loan, after the Argentine striker’s Miami failed to make it to the playoffs this season. This is a very unfortunate thing because Messi will take about two months off, while his plan is to continue playing football on tour to regain his physical foundation before the training season with Inter Miami.

Messi played prominently in the Inter Miami shirt, but he had health problems and had to miss some matches at the end of the season. Photo: GETTY.

After an unsuccessful season, Inter Miami have started planning for next season and their squad is definitely built around Lionel Messi. Several of their players, including prominent striker Josef Martinez, were released from their contracts, and coach Gerardo Martino is working hard to recreate people and a new style of play.

Notably, Messi’s physical condition became an issue in the final weeks of the season for the team, with his absence causing significant losses for the club. Along with Jordi Alba, they hope Messi has enough time to regain his best form for next season.

The Argentine star will return to the field later this month when the world champions face Uruguay and Brazil in the FIFA World Cup South America qualifiers. He will return to play with Inter Miami next January, when they begin their pre-season training cycle.