Lionel Messi‘s arrival at Inter Miami has significantly elevated Major League Soccer (MLS), according to Atlanta United star Thiago Almada, who emphasizes how the footballing landscape has “improved a lot” since the Argentine's move to the United States in the summer of 2023, reported by GOAL. Messi, with his eight Ballon d'Or triumphs, bid farewell to European football and promptly made an impact by guiding Inter Miami to a historic Leagues Cup crown.

Almada, who was part of the 2022 World Cup-winning team alongside Lionel Messi, spoke to ESPN about the positive influence Messi has had on MLS: “It changed a lot with Messi. The football improved a lot. You can see that a lot more. It’s back and forth, there are a lot of goals. Sometimes it happened to us that we started winning and didn’t build on that, and we ended up losing. When Leo came, he knew more about MLS than I did. I spoke when we faced each other. He arrived and they started winning all the games.”

Almada himself earned recognition as the MLS Young Player of the Year for 2023, showcasing impressive stats of 11 goals and 19 assists during the regular season. Looking ahead, the 22-year-old expresses his desire to move to Europe, particularly eyeing a stint in Spain's La Liga.

Thiago Almada, a product of Velez Sarsfield's academy, left Argentina in February 2022 for Atlanta and now has aspirations to secure a spot in Argentina’s squad for the 2024 Copa America, set to take place in the United States.