Federico Redondo is set to be Inter Miami’s star of the future but for now he is happy to name teammate Lionel Messi as the ‘best in the world.’
Redondo and Messi have rejoined Inter Miami for pre-season training as they prepare for their opening match against Club America.
The pair will shortly be joined by some new faces as Inter Miami confirmed the loan signing of Tadeo Allende.
While new faces continue to arrive at Chase Stadium it’s the presence of Messi that has really left its impact on Redondo.
Messi’s desire to win is ‘greatest quality’
Messi is no stranger to praise from current and former teammates but it appears his influence stretches far beyond the soccer field.
NBA star Steph Curry recently hailed Messi as an ‘inspiration’. Redondo would certainly echo the words of Curry and named the stars ‘greatest quality.’
Speaking to La Nacion Redondo was asked if he was impressed by Messi’s continued desire to win despite being 37, he said: “That is the great quality that makes him the best player in history.
“There are thousands of talented players, although none as talented as him, in my opinion, but besides being so talented, he is a player who has won absolutely everything, and more than once, and you see him in training and he plays like hell, he wants to win everything.”
Messi is being linked with a return to Barcelona despite the Herons looking to begin new contract discussions with the star who is out of contract at the end of 2025.
Playing with Lionel Messi ‘easy’
Redondo joined Inter Miami in 2024 and his $7.5m signing from Argentinos Juniors surprised many.
The 21-year-old became a regular in the Herons lineup last season playing 25 games across all competitions, something that he found easy alongside Messi.
Asked whether he found it pressurizing to play with Messi he had a very straight answer, saying: “No, it’s easy to play with Leo. Essentially because he makes everything easier for you: if you’re in trouble, you give it to him and he handles it; if he has people on top of him, it doesn’t matter, he handles it anyway.”
Messi is unlikely to be overworked in preseason so it will be interesting to see how Redondo and the Inter Miami players perform without their star.
Inter Miami face a tough opening MLS fixture against New York City FC in February.