Lionel Messi is adamant that Inter Miami have already achieved one of their goals regardless of the result in this weekend's Leagues Cup final against Nashville SC.
Messi, 36, is now 90 minutes away from adding another piece of silverware to his career trophy cabinet only half a dozen matches into his spell in South Florida. The World Cup winner having scored nine goals, and assisting another, across those six games has Inter Miami in this scarcely believable position.
Despite remaining rock-bottom of the MLS regular season standings, the club are in their first cup final following a fairytale run through the tournament. However, for Messi, whatever the result is on Saturday night in Nashville, their campaign is already successful.
That is true because the trophy is not the only reward in this relatively new competition. As well as silverware, qualification for CONCACAF's version of the Champions League is an additional prize for successful sides.
And that is something Messi is well aware of. "We're happy to have met our first goal," he said, in Spanish, at a press conference on Thursday, "which is CONCACAF Champions Cup qualifying."
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The top three finishers in the Leagues Cup - the two finalists and the winner of Sunday's third-place play-off - automatically make it into the cross-country competition. However, he will hardly be satisfied with that.
While the third-placed team and the runners-up enter in Round One, the winners will receive a bye into the Champions Cup round of 16. So there is even more incentive to triumph besides bringing a trophy back to Miami.
Messi spoke at a press conference on Thursday for the first time since signing for Inter Miami (Getty)Messi also acknowledged that there is no reason Miami can't go one step further and complete their remarkable transformation. "Now, we can play a final," he said.
"It would be incredible for the fans, for the club itself [to win]. While it's been a great surprise that we're about to play a final for people who don't see us train every day, we have prepared for this.
"To compete and go for this title because we know we're capable. The team has grown greatly, especially since [head coach Gerardo Martino 's] arrival."
The Inter Miami captain is already a fan of the competition and believes it showcases the sport's growth in the United States. "This Leagues Cup demonstrated that," he explains.
"There is no Mexican team in the final. While you can question a lot of things, the reality is all the matches were very close, very competitive. Anybody can beat anyone else.
"I get the sense that the same happens in [MLS]. It's a competitive one where anybody can win. One where the home team is strong, and it's difficult to win away. I'll still be getting to know a little bit of that after my first match."
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