26 June 2023 , 11:58
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Inter Miami have dropped a major hint that incoming superstar Lionel Messi will take up the shirt number he is synonymous with when he officially signs for the club.
The Floridan franchise stunned the football world by capturing the services of the 36-year-old legend and, although he is not yet a Herons player, their social media team made sure to mark the Argentine's birthday. In a best wishes message posted on Instagram, the representatives of the South Beach club posted a graphic that read 'Feliz Cumple', which simply translates as 'Happy Birthday.
Aside from the festivities, eagle-eyed observers will have also noticed that the 'le' at the end of the word had been highlighted in white and made to resemble the number '10'. Of course, Messi served Barcelona with distinction for 17 years, wearing this number for the majority of his time at Camp Nou.
On top of this, the departing Paris Saint-Germain star has also served as his country's 'number 10' for several years now, with the crowning moment of his career coming in the jersey at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. The talismanic striker led the nation to a third World Cup triumph in its history, with the talismanic striker following in the footsteps of the late Diego Maradona, whose performances wearing the same shirt took Argentina to the trophy in 1986.
At the start of his Blaugrana career, Messi wore the number 30 shirt, graduating to the number 19 in 2005-06 before taking the hallowed number 10 in 2008-09. The shirt — previously worn by compatriots Maradona and Juan Roman Riquelme in Catalonia — appeared to inspire him to scale new heights in his career, with his first Ballon d'Or coming in 2009-10.
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After taking the famous jersey, the superstar went on to win the coveted individual prize six more times, while winning an incredible three Champions Leagues and eight La Liga titles. A move to PSG would then beckon in the summer of 2021, where he went on to wear the number 30 once more.
Following two years in the French capital, the Argentinian ace is on the move once more, spurning the advances of former team Barcelona and the riches of the Saudi Pro League to sign for David Beckham's Inter Miami. Although some minor details still need to be ironed out it is expected, the deal is expected to be a formality.
A graphic wishing Lionel Messi 'Happy Birthday' was posted on Instagram as Inter Miami gear up for the superstar's arrival (Instagram/ InterMiamiCF)It appears that there will be no surprises when it comes to the number he will wear for his latest club, however, especially since the number 10 is currently vacant at DRV PNK Stadium. The jersey was last the property of Messi's former international teammate Gonzalo Higuain but the forward retired last year.
Currently Messi is on holiday following another gruelling season which brought him yet another league title, as well as the holy grail of the career defining World Cup. Accompanied by his family, they celebrated the veteran winger's birthday as his wife Antonella posted a picture of her with her husband and their three children, captioned: "Happy Birthday my love, we love you infinitely."
With Messi mania currently sweeping the US, the clamour to see the former Barcelona star in action has reached fever pitch in recent times, with tickets for all of his new team's away dates having sold out within hours of the announcement of his deal. As it stands, it looks likely that he will make his long awaited debut for the MLS club on July 21 in the Leagues Cup against Mexican team Cruz Azul.