Inter Miami and Lionel Messi are going on an international tour, as the Herons will play a pair of friendly contests against two Chinese Super League sides in early November.
The tour marks the first of its kind for the south Florida side, as Miami will face off against the CSL's Qingdao Hainiu F.C on November 5 at Qingdao Youth Football Stadium and Chengdu Rongcheng at Phoenix Hill Sports Park on November 8.
MLS has already expanded their audience with the arrival of Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, and Miami's tour is designed to extend the reach further around the globe.
"We’re very excited to continue to expand our Club’s global reach, bringing our team to play in front of incredible fans across the globe," Miami chief business officer Xavier Asensi said in a press release. "This is a special opportunity to share the passion as we reach new audiences and put ourselves on display in new places, and we’re looking forward to beginning this adventure."
The Herons came up short in their bid for a 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs spot, as a nagging injury to Messi coupled with the wear and tear on the squad since the Leagues Cup triumph clearly took a toll on Gerardo 'Tata' Martino's team.
"This will be a great opportunity to continue building on our 2023 campaign, in which we achieved our first-ever trophy," Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said. "We will take this as an opportunity to begin our preparations for 2024, as we look to build on last season and find more success moving forward."
Miami closes out the 2023 regular season with two back-to-back games against Charlotte FC. The Herons play host to Charlotte at DRV PNK Stadium on October 18 before travelling to Bank of America Stadium for the reverse fixture on October 21 for their regular season finale. Miami will have roughly two weeks off from playing before their first friendly in China on November 5.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Inter Miami to go on tour of China following 2023 MLS season.