Is Lionel Messi saving himself for Copa America? Inter Miami boss Martino reacts after disappointing show against Atlanta United

Lionel Messi added one more to his Major League Soccer (MLS) goal tally in the match against Atlanta United, but that's not going to make his fans or the Herons happy. Inter Miami suffered an embarrassing 1-3 defeat at the hands of United, with Messi's solitary goal in the second half remaining their only positive.

Although Messi netted his 11^th goal for Miami in his 2024 campaign, it is safe to say that he was not at his best at Chase Stadium. While Saba Lobjanidze's twin goals gave United its first league win in nearly two months, Miami’s 10-match MLC winning streak was broken.

Messi’s return was expected to boost David Beckham's side, but the result was the opposite. Following their defeat, the question of whether the 2022 World Cup winner is giving it his all for MLS has once again been raised. Inter Miami boss Tata Martino had to counter this question and he came up with a statement in support of the legend.

Why are the allegations against Messi?

Despite being available, Messi chose to sit out some games for Miami. Notably, Messi and another star striker, Luis Suarez, did not play the match against the Vancouver Whitecaps on May 25. The match was expected to attract over 50,000 spectators, but their withdrawal left them frustrated. Martino attributed their absence to the team's busy upcoming schedule.

With the 48th edition of the Copa America set to kick off on June 20, many are speculating that Messi is saving himself for the marquee event. Asked about his view on this, Martino said: “No, I will not speculate if Messi is saving himself for Copa America because [that question has] no validity.”

Argentina are currently the reigning champions of one of the oldest continental football competitions, beating Brazil 1-0 in the last final. Allegations are rife that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is eyeing a title defence and being a part of the MLS just to stay fit.

Martino believes ‘everything went wrong’ for his side against Atlanta United

Lobjanidze netted the first goal of the match right before half-time (44^th minute). The Georgia striker added one more in the 59^th minute and silenced the home crowd. It was Messi’s goal in the 62nd minute that brought them back into the game. However, Jamal Thiare gave United another lead in the 73rd minute.

Speaking after the match, Martino said: “There are no positives to take from this game. We were missing a step against Atlanta, we took a step backwards from how we had been playing, and that was totally unexpected. I saw no signs of fatigue in training on Monday or Tuesday. I don’t have to do a deep analysis of what went wrong because everything went wrong.”