Sergio Busquets admits that even with Lionel Messi in the squad, Inter Miami are “not good enough to compete” for glory at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Inter Miami is facing a historic opportunity when it participates for the first time in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, the prestigious tournament expanded by FIFA and held in the US this summer. In particular, the appearance of Lionel Messi has made the MLS team the center of attention of fans, especially fans in North America.

Co-owned by the legendary David Beckham, Inter Miami fell into Group A with formidable opponents including Al Ahly (Egypt), Palmeiras (Brazil) and Porto (Portugal). Although the expectations from the fans were very high, especially after the team strengthened its squad with high-class names such as Messi, Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez, the players themselves were cautious.

Midfielder Sergio Busquets, who has won all the major tournaments including the FIFA Club World Cup with Barcelona, told DAZN: “It’s clear that we’re not at the level to compete for the title at the FIFA Club World Cup. But we’ll try to do our best in the group stage, game by game, and hopefully go as far as we can – even though it’s very difficult.”

However, not everyone is pessimistic. Former striker Sergio Aguero, a close friend of Messi, expressed his belief when answering the FIFA homepage: “Everyone wants to see Messi play. It’s great that Inter Miami is in this tournament, especially with Leo in the squad. He doesn’t like to lose and will play with everything he has.”

Messi has won the FIFA Club World Cup three times with Barcelona (2009, 2011, 2015). With the match schedule adjusted to preserve his fitness, the Argentine legend is expected to explode when the tournament kicks off on June 14 – where he will once again conquer the world in a new shirt.