Santiago Morales was the big winner from Inter Miami’s pre-season win against Club America last weekend.
The 17-year-old midfielder stepped up to score the winning penalty against the Mexican giants with Morales winning praise from Lionel Messi and the rest of Inter Miami’s superstars, with the teenager set for a breakthrough season.
With Inter Miami now back in training ahead of their next slate of pre-season fixtures next week, Morales will be keen to ensure he wins even more minutes under Javier Mascherano after impressing in his unofficial debut for the Herons.
Indeed, training with Inter Miami offers players the once-in-a-lifetime chance to play alongside the likes of Messi and Luis Suarez on a day-to-day basis, and Morales has shared what he’s learning from the soccer legends in Florida.
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Morales told by Messi and Suarez to ‘always compete’ for Inter Miami
Speaking to reporters at this week’s open training session, the USA youth international shared how Messi and Suarez are urging Morales to ‘always compete’ and to always give it his best every training session and match.
Morales said: “What they teach most is the desire to win and always compete. They are players with a great track record, who are hungry to win and compete in every training session and match. That’s what they transmit, always competing and always giving their best.”
With new signing Fafa Picault also already taking on what Messi does in training, the Inter Miami captain’s influence at the Florida Blue Training Center is as big as it has ever been heading into the new MLS season.
And for the likes of Morales, learning as much as possible from the likes of Messi and Suarez will go a long way in the teenager breaking into Inter Miami’s first-team, with Mascherano likely to turn to youth in the upcoming campaign.
Messi has already told Inter Miami players they need to be ‘perfect’ in training
Training with the best of all time in Messi is both a privilege and a pressure-induced experience to all who are lucky enough to participate alongside the Argentine international, who made it to the top of the soccer world by demanding nothing but the best from his teammates.
And that hasn’t stopped since turning 38 and joining Inter Miami, with Leo Afonso revealing that Messi demands everyone to be ‘perfect’ in training, a mindset that last season saw a number of players in the roster improve vastly overnight.
Indeed, Morales is one such player who will benefit hugely from playing alongside Messi this season, and the youngster knows that every minute spent with the Argentine is a minute that can be used to learn as much as possible to improve his craft.