The Union’s Argentines celebrate Lionel Messi coming to MLS

The news of Lionel Messi’s decision to join Inter Miami was the talk of Wednesday’s Union practice, as it was around Major League Soccer and the entire sports world.

But it was especially big for the Union’s two Argentines, Julián Carranza and Joaquín Torres, both of whom have crossed paths with Messi before.

Carranza met Messi in 2017 when the star was with Argentina’s senior national team and Carranza was with their under-17s. Their training camps overlapped for two weeks, and a photo still lives on Carranza’s Instagram page.

» READ MORE: Lionel Messi picks Inter Miami, giving Major League Soccer its biggest superstar ever

“It will be good for MLS, and for Miami as well,” Carranza, now 23, told The Inquirer. “It’s going to be a better league, I think, with Messi — and if [Sergio] Busquets comes, and [Luis] Suárez as well. ... They’re going to feel at home because there’s a lot of Latinos there [in Miami], South Americans.”

That was a reference to reports that two of Messi’s best-known former Barcelona teammates will join him in Miami. Exactly when and how that could happen is unknown because Inter is in the last year of multimillion-dollar financial penalties imposed by MLS for breaking the league’s salary rules in 2020.

The punishment also forced Miami to give up some players to become roster-compliant, and Carranza was one of them. The Union pounced, signing him on loan at the start of 2022, then paying a paltry $500,000 to acquire him for good in the summer. It will go down as one of the all-time steals in MLS history.

Not for nothing, Kai Wagner said Messi’s arrival is “good for the league,” but then sarcastically wondered “if it’s a good rule that some teams can do whatever they want.”

Torres, 26, played against Messi in 2019 while a prospect at famed Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys. Argentina’s national team came by for a scrimmage against the squad. It was a homecoming for Messi, who started in Newell’s youth academy before moving to Barcelona’s academy in 2000.

» READ MORE: Will Lionel Messi play in Philadelphia this year? Here’s what to know.

“For MLS and the world, it’s a great, grand thing that he’s coming here to play in this league,” Torres said. “For me, he’s my idol, the biggest role model in football.”

Messi never forgot his roots, even though he went on to spend over two decades in Europe. Diego Maradona also was a Newell’s alumnus, and after his death in 2020, Messi celebrated a goal for Barcelona by wearing a Newell’s shirt with their shared No. 10.

“Newell’s is a big and important team in Argentina,” Torres said. “It has a great place in the history of Argentine football.”

Torres is one of four Union players who’ve played against Messi in a game. The others did so with their national teams: José Andrés Martínez for Venezuela in two qualifiers for last year’s World Cup; and Andre Blake and Damion Lowe for Jamaica in a pre-World Cup friendly last September at Red Bull Arena.

Blake was asked if he’s excited to face Messi again, and answered simply: “Of course.”

Union manager Jim Curtin called Messi’s arrival “the biggest day in, probably, MLS history, and it’s the best player that the sport of soccer has ever had, in my opinion.”

Curtin’s team is unlikely to play against Messi this year because Inter’s only regular-season visit to Chester is on June 24 — before MLS’ summer transfer window opens on July 5.

Miami currently is in last place in the Eastern Conference and would have to either make the playoffs or reach the semifinals of the Leagues Cup to face the Union. But that didn’t stop Curtin’s friends from asking for tickets.

“I had to explain that he won’t be here,” Curtin said. “A lot of texts, I’ll just say, and a lot of requests already, which I’m sure you’re already seeing throughout the league. Ticket prices are probably skyrocketing for all their games.”

» READ MORE: Andre Blake relishes dueling with Lionel Messi in a Jamaica vs. Argentina showcase

A check of ticket resellers and social media quickly showed Curtin was right.

Even if Messi only comes to town next year, Curtin will relish it when the time comes.

“To prepare for him is something I can honestly say I’d never thought I’d be doing,” he said. “He’s the perfect example that you don’t have to be the tallest, or the biggest, or the fastest, or run and sprint the most — if you have the IQ and understand the game and when to move and have the perfect first touch. … For our young players to see him, to learn from him, to share the field with him, will be something I never thought would happen in my lifetime. So it’s really special.”

The wildfire smoke that has engulfed Philadelphia was visible and tangible at practice, but the Union were able to get a full session in. It helped that a breeze off the Delaware River cooled the air and brought some moisture, while things were worse in Center City and points north.

“It does have an effect,” Curtin said. “Guys have complained, a little irritation with the eyes and the breathing. I hope everything gets fixed up as quickly as possible, obviously, but it’s certainly something that you can tell — you can smell, you can breathe, and feel it.”

» READ MORE: How will the smoke change in Philly over time? Here’s a look at the air quality forecast for the region.

The Union’s trio of U.S. under-20 team players — Brandan Craig, Jack McGlynn, and Quinn Sullivan — were back on the field Wednesday after the Americans’ World Cup run ended in the quarterfinals. All three should be available for Saturday’s game at the San Jose Earthquakes (10:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled).

But midfielder and captain Alejandro Bedoya only worked out on the sideline instead of joining the full action.

“Able to run and push off a lot harder than last week, so that’s a positive,” Curtin said. “Can he be used as a reserve for San Jose? We’ll see. … We’re weighing the risk-reward there.”

» READ MORE: Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami significantly lowers odds to win 2023 MLS Cup