# Cuban Soccer Player Will Play with Messi in Miami

**Date:** 06/26/2023

Cuban soccer player Modesto Méndez, a 25-year-old defender for the Cuban national team and Inter Miami, assured that he is very enthusiastic about the arrival of the Argentine star to his team because "what player in the world doesn't want to play with him".

In a conversation with the newspaper As, the young Cuban athlete, who is currently on tour with the Caribbean national team through Chile and Uruguay in friendly matches, stated that the presence of Messi in the Inter Miami squad was something "incredible", although he noted that he didn't know much about the subject because he had been "15 days away from the club".

Méndez, who has been with the Miami club for three years, explained that "the Inter Miami fan base is as if it were from Argentina. They are very passionate, demanding. If you're playing well, they love you and if you're playing badly they tear you down. It's a bit difficult, but overall it's a very nice club".

The defender added that in the South Florida team they played with "tremendous desire" and that he liked being there. So far his time at that club has seemed like a "beautiful experience" to him.

"The league has a very dynamic style of play, the level is rising. They press very high and the game itself is very fast, so you have to be in very good physical condition to perform", he added.

Regarding what Messi will find in Miami, the Cuban soccer player indicated that "it is a city where day to day you can be very comfortable, especially for Latinos because Spanish is the main language. Practically everything is in Spanish, from the food down".

As for the sporting side, Méndez noted that the climate is sometimes a negative factor, because humidity rises in the middle of the match and performance usually drops on the field. Regarding the quality of the pitch he said it was "very good", although he reiterated the issue of humidity.

Messi, 35 years old, in an interview jointly granted to the Spanish newspapers Mundo Deportivo and Sport at the beginning of this month, reported that he had chosen the option to play in the MLS with Inter Miami, which is presided over by Cuban-American brothers Jorge and José Mas, sons of the well-known anti-Castro politician and businessman Jorge Mas Canosa.

The Argentine rejected a multimillion-dollar proposal from a Saudi Arabian club because it was "too much money" and that wasn't what motivated him. He also decided not to wait for any option from his former club, Barcelona, since he wanted to determine his own destiny.