Something that's never happened before in Lionel Messi's 21-year career will take place in his next match after more than 1,100 games as a professional

For the first time in his career, Lionel Messi will face one of his former clubs on Sunday as MLS side Inter Miami take on European champions PSG in the Club World Cup.

Inter Miami booked their place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Palmeiras, emerging from Group A in second place with an unbeaten record.

It was a historic moment for the Herons, who became the only MLS representative to advance to the knockout phase.

And in the coming days, they will go toe-to-toe with Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain as Lionel Messi takes on his former club at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Speaking ahead of the game, PSG full-back Achraf Hakimi opened up on the prospect of facing his former teammate.

"It will be nice to see Messi again," he said. "There were a lot of great moments. On the pitch, there are no friends. He’s going to try and win, and we’re going to try and win too. We’re going to give everything to try and get through to the next round."

Ahead of this weekend's clash, Inter Miami full-back Jordi Alba claimed PSG are currently "the best in the entire world", but insisted they will try and compete against Luis Enrique's side.

"I'm proud of the team, and now we're competing against a top team like PSG," Alba said after the game against Palmeiras. "It's great. For me, they're playing the best football in Europe, and well, it's obviously a very difficult match, but we're going to try to compete.

"Why not dream of beating the European champion? It will be very difficult. We know the quality of all the players, and for me, Luis Enrique is the best coach in the world. I know him very well.

"This is football, and it's 90-something minutes, and well, why not dream? ... They're [PSG] the ones who play the best football today. They're very versatile, with very good wide players, and guys in midfield who have the ball.

"Overall, they're the most complete team, for me. We'll see how far we can go and try to compete."

Lionel Messi during his spell at PSG. Image credit: Getty

How does Messi feel about his time at PSG?

During his time in Paris, Messi inspired Argentina to World Cup glory, but upon returning to his club, he aimed a dig at the Ligue 1 champions, claiming he did not receive recognition for winning the biggest prize in world football.

"I was the only player that didn't receive recognition from the club compared to my 25 other teammates," he told Olga.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi hit back with a response of his own. "Outside there is a lot of talk, I don't know what he did or what he didn't say," he said.

"As everyone saw we even published a video, we congratulated Messi in training, and also in private, but with respect we are a French club."

Messi also claimed life at PSG was "crap", according to former Toulouse and Charlotte FC player Brecht Dejaegere, who spoke to the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner following an MLS clash.

"At the final whistle, I asked him if he felt better in Miami than in France," Dejaegere told RTBF. "He was surprised... I told him that I had played against him with Toulouse at the Parc des Princes. He didn't remember me, but it was my childhood dream come true.

"Messi has always been my favourite player! It was crazy to meet him. And so, that day, he told me that for him, at PSG, it was 'crap'. Yes, 'crap'. Because if at the beginning, the welcome from the Parisians had been good, he had been taken against following the failure in the Champions League: he was whistled at every ball and he was fed up."