Lionel Messi reveals two people who had major influence on his life

Even if Lionel Messi is without a doubt the greatest superstar in Barcelona history, he couldn't have accomplished such tremendous things on his own. Messi named two people who had the most influence on his professional life at FC Barcelona in a conversation with Mundo Deportivo.

The former Paris Saint-Germain winger said, “There are two people at Barcelona who’ve made a huge impact on me. The first one was Pep Guardiola, because we achieved incredible things together — and Ronaldinho, for how he helped me”

Lionel Messi's current team, Inter Miami, finally found out their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup opponents yesterday. Palmeiras and Porto are also included in the group for the Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States next year, and Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are going to play Egyptian team Al Ahly in the opening match.

The 32 teams in the newly enlarged event eventually learned who their first three competitors would be at the draw, which took place in Miami on Thursday. Twelve stadiums in eleven different locations will host the competition in the United States from June 15 to July 13. The 2026 World Cup final will be held in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the final will take place.

Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami are the two teams in Major League Soccer. Inter Miami was selected as the host country's representative, and the Sounders made it on the basis of their merit.

FIFA Club World Cup’s revamped format

The club tournament follows the World Cup's 1998–2022 original 32-team format. Thursday saw the drawing of eight round-robin groups with four teams each, with the top two teams from each group moving on to a 16-team knockout bracket.

Europe had the lead with 12 berths, followed by South America with six. Africa, Asia, and North America each received four spaces, with Inter Miami effectively receiving an additional spot from North America due to its host status. One slot went to Oceania.