The draw for the FIFA Club World Cup could not have scripted it better: Lionel Messi, two years removed from an unhappy spell in Paris, meets Paris Saint-Germain at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday with a place in the quarter-finals at stake. For the Argentine, the date is equal parts reckoning and reminder. He must stare down the supporters who once booed his name, and the coach—Luis Enrique—who coaxed a treble out of him at Barcelona yet signed on at PSG knowing the No. 10 would not be around to reprise the role.
Luis Enrique understands Messi as well as any modern manager. Their relationship frayed briefly in January 2015, when an internal row after Messi was benched at Real Sociedad nearly split Barça’s dressing room, yet the pair still closed that season with the Champions League trophy. If there is lingering tension, it sits beneath layers of mutual respect. Enrique’s real edge lies in memory: he has filed away every preferred zone and pressing trigger Messi likes to exploit. That knowledge will inform PSG’s plan far more than any emotional residue.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano, once the conduit between Messi and Enrique in Catalonia, is now the middleman again—this time on the opposite touchline. “It’s clear that it would be better for us if he was angry, because he’s one of those players who, when he has something in mind, gives a bit extra,” Mascherano told ESPN this week. And there’s little doubt that Messi arrives with some of that anger. His time in Paris, punctuated by boos, friction with fans, and a premature exit, left a sour taste. That history alone is enough to fuel him.
The coach is counting on slights, real or perceived, to sharpen Messi’s focus, but he is also dealing with a squad carrying knocks. Jordi Alba is still nursing a hamstring issue, while Gonzalo Luján and Yannick Bright remain sidelined. Center-back Ian Fray suffered an adductor strain in the Porto game and is unlikely to recover in time for Sunday, meaning Miami may need to patch together the same makeshift defense that conceded 16 goals in its past six matches.
Where the match will be won
PSG arrive healthier, deeper, and—crucially—battle-hardened. Even without Ousmane Dembélé for much of the group stage, they hammered Atlético Madrid 4-0, edged Seattle Sounders 2-0, and conceded once in 270 minutes. Dembélé returned to full training on Wednesday; the club is optimistic he’ll be cleared, while Achraf Hakimi should also feature. Their 4-3-3 under Enrique morphs into a 3-2-5 in possession, with Nuno Mendes pinching inside, Fabián Ruiz orchestrating the overload, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia darting into the half-spaces vacated by the full-back. That shape stretches Miami exactly where its makeshift defense is thinnest: between the lines and in wide-left transition.
Miami’s hope is condensed into two ideas. First, Messi must slow the match to his tempo. He is fully fit—Mascherano dismissed the leg-grabbing clip that went viral as “nothing at all… he trained well.” When Messi drifts inside, Sergio Busquets drops to build a temporary back three, and Luis Suárez, despite diminishing pace, still drags center-backs with clever diagonal runs. If Miami can freeze PSG’s press for pockets of four or five passes, Messi will find Suárez or teenage winger Benjamin Cremaschi on the weak side.
Second, Miami needs chaos. Busquets himself admitted in May, “It’s clear that we’re not at the level to compete in the Club World Cup, but we’ll try to compete in the group.” Well, now his team’s in the knockout rounds. Such humility serves the Herons now: they will concede territory, break rhythm with tactical fouls, and hunt set pieces. A trademark Messi free kick rescued the Porto match; another dead-ball moment may be the equalizer against PSG’s talent gap.
Prediction
On paper, PSG should glide: their bench could start for most sides in this expanded tournament, and Enrique’s insiders’ dossier on Messi is unmatched. Yet football is rarely clinical, where emotion swells. Expect Miami to survive the opening salvo, buoyed by an Atlanta crowd heavy on pink shirts and nostalgia. Messi will conjure one clear chance—he almost always does—but PSG’s width and bench depth should wear down a patched-up back four. A late goal from Dembélé or Kvaratskhelia feels inevitable.
PSG 3, Inter Miami 1. An upset is possible only if Miami scores first and Messi elongates every restart; otherwise, Enrique moves on, and the reunion becomes a footnote rather than a storybook twist.
P.S.: There’s also a lot of money on the line for both sides.
