MLS clubs 'to change their pitches' ready for Lionel Messi's arrival, never been done before

A number of MLS clubs are expected to make drastic changes to pitches following the sensational arrival of Lionel Messi.

After signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Inter Miami, Messi was officially unveiled at a special, sold-out event at the club's DRV PNK Stadium on Sunday.

He is in line to make his debut for the Herons against Mexican side Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on Cruz Azul on July 21 and already there's talk of the ridiculous rise in ticket prices as fans scramble to see the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner in action.

Messi's move to the United States is a massive deal for the MLS on the whole and the league's commissioner, Don Garber, has detailed some key alterations which look set to take place.

Security measures will have to be ramped up for starters but Garber has been discussing the likelihood of Messi playing on fully artificial grass.

Currently, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, New England Revolution Atlanta United and Charlotte FC all have fake grass surfaces and Messi is slated to come up against the latter two this season.

Image: Getty

Messi has played the majority of his glittering career on genuine grass and there are concerns over potential injury risk from the synthetic surfaces

In recent years, both Mark Delgado and Miles Robinson picked up injuries on artificial surfaces at Atlanta and Vancouver respectively.

Garber believes measures will be taken, with a solution being to have a secondary temporary layer of grass - but pointed out that previous superstars had no problem with astroturf.

Image: Getty

“MLS promotes a lot of international games and we have been able to bring natural grass into those stadiums, but we’ve never done that for a regular season game,” Garber told reporters, as per The Athletic.

“My expectations are that that’s what they will do, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to figure all of that out.

“A lot of international stars come into Major League Soccer, and they are either intrigued or concerned about not playing on grass. And then you see some of the best players who’ve ever played the game, the (Thierry) Henrys of the world and Kakas of the world, who played on turf.”

Garber also hinted at a potential change in kick-off times to cater to the global audience who want to see Messi strut his stuff.

At present, a game at 7:30pm local time would be 12:30am in the United Kingdom and 1:30am in Europe.

Topics: MLS, Lionel Messi, Inter Miami

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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