On Friday, FC Dallas confirmed that they would be hosting Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami for a pre-season friendly.

The Cotton Bowl Stadium, located in Dallas’ Fair Park, will host the event on Monday, January 22.

The Burn’s president Dan Hunt said: “We’re looking forward to playing in the Cotton Bowl and welcoming Inter Miami to the iconic stadium that served as our franchise’s original home. This is a great way to kick off 2024 and get the DFW market excited about our players and the upcoming MLS season.”

In the meantime, Chris Henderson, Inter Miami’s sporting director, added: “We are pleased to be able to play in a historic venue like the Cotton Bowl as part of our 2024 preseason preparations. This match against FC Dallas will provide us with a great test against MLS opposition ahead of our fifth season for Inter Miami. We’re looking forward to making this our most memorable campaign yet.”

Dallas return to Cotton Bowl after 15 years

Additionally, this game marks the team’s return to the Cotton Bowl after a 12-year absence. What is more, this friendly will mark the beginning of both teams’ 2024 pre-season. To make matters more interesting, it will only be the second time they have met in the offseason.

Over the course of the three meetings between the teams in MLS regular season play, Dallas has a 2-0-1 record. On August 6, 2023, Toyota Stadium played home to a nail-biting Leagues Cup Round of 16 encounter. Eventually, Miami advanced to the final thanks to penalty kicks and went on to win the competition.

When FC Dallas first formed in 1996 as the Dallas Burn, they played their home games at the Cotton Bowl. The arena hosted Dallas games from 1996 through the 2002 Major League Soccer season and again in 2004. The next year, they relocated to Toyota Stadium in Texas, after already playing there for part of the 2005 season.

FC Dallas will use this high-profile friendly as a chance to return to their former home, the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park
FC Dallas will use this high-profile friendly as a chance to return to their former home, the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park

Will Lionel Messi play?

“Excited to have secured the final match of what will be a historic preseason for Inter Miami and MLS. We’re proud to embark on this journey that no other team in league history has experienced and look forward to captivating our worldwide fan base with our 2024 preseason tour. We’re thrilled to continue putting ourselves in positions to make history”, Miami’s CBO Xavier Asensi also stated.

Whether Lionel Messi will suit up for this match is the burning question on everyone’s mind. Nonetheless, it looks very likely that the Argentine will be there, as per WWA. However, the clubs will announce the friendly rosters later.

Additionally, another player worth watching in the encounter may be Luis Suarez. The 36-year-old is a former colleague of Messi’s who joined the lineup over the summer. As with Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, Suarez becomes the Argentine’s third ex-Barcelona pal to sign with the Herons.

North Texas will be hosting Messi for the second time. Messi and Inter Miami eliminated FCD from the League Cup in August 2023 at Toyota Stadium with a 5-4 score. Therefore, this will be Inter Miami and FC Dallas’ seventh meeting overall, including preseason matches.

Photo credits: IMAGO / Eyepix Group : IMAGO / Pond5 Images