Lionel Messi isn’t expected to start in Inter Miami debut

FORT LAUDERDALE – Inter Miami fans are mad about Messi.

And not in a good way.

Some fans that shelled out thousands of dollars for tickets to Lionel Messi’s expected Inter Miami debut Friday — in a Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul at DRV-PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale — are irate that the Argentine superstar isn’t expected to start.

The 36-year-old Messi just joined Inter Miami and started practicing last week.

He’s still expected to suit up and play against the Mexican side, with The Athletic reporting he will likely play the final 30 minutes.

“Messi and (Sergio) Busquets will play on Friday. I’m not sure if they will start,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino had said Wednesday afternoon. “The first thing I want is for them to keep training. Jordi Alba became a dad today and that’s why he’ll come in the next few days.”

Everybody at Inter Miami has preached caution in dealing with their newly-signed superstar, arguably the best player in history.

They’ dropped hints that Messi would be eased in, as David Beckham — now Inter Miami’s part-owner — had been when he made his Los Angeles Galaxy debut in the 78^th minute 16 years ago Friday.

“’We don’t know if Leo is going to play the game or if he will have minutes, because I think that, after all, he needs to be ready,” Beckham told ESPN Argentina.

That apparently did little to assuage the angry fans that have been swept up in Messi Mania and bought tickets and what they feel are extortionate prices.

Inter Miami is now the most followed American team on social media, quickly blowing past every NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL team since Messi’s arrival.

The average ticket for Friday is well over $250 with many in the thousands, including one that listed at a staggering $110,000 on the secondary market.

“The moment the ball rolls, there’s no more time for explaining,” Martino said in Spanish at a Thursday press conference. “We understand we’ve had very few days training together. The players have recently arrived here and they have to get in shape. So sure, immediate results are expected, and we want it to be that way, because the plan we have will flow better if we align them to positive results.”

Cruz Azul coach Ricardo Ferretti chuckled when asked if his team expected to face Messi, and said he’d be perfectly content if the superstar sat out altogether.

“If he didn’t play…it would be better,” said Ferretti. “But, they also have to think about something, why are there so many people here? Because of him, right?”