Globe-trotting with Inter Miami CF isn’t for the faint-hearted. While most MLS teams camp out in Spain or California for preseason, Lionel Messi’s Herons travel worldwide.
In 2024, the team visited El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Argentina, and Dallas. The 2025 preseason included stops in Las Vegas, Peru, Panama and Honduras before wrapping up in its home state.
Whichever route, it’s a busy one––far different than any of the other 29 clubs.
“We were gone for so long [in 2024] and were just on this world tour,” midfielder Julian Gressel said on his Player-Manager Podcast. “This year, we've been at home the whole time. We've trained at our training facility every training session and only travelled to the games, just like regular MLS away trips. So that's been really different than I'm used to in preseason, but also really nice.”
Unlike any other MLS side, Inter Miami’s preseason matches don’t occur in front of small crowds at training grounds. Instead, they’re televised spectacles, with fans flocking the hotels and buses just to catch a glimpse of the superstars.
For Gressel, that meant getting caught in the fandom. Often sharing the same side of the bus with Messi and Jordi Alba, he sees the chaos of fans flanking them as they arrive, leaning in for a look or a dream autograph.
“People go crazy on my side of the bus… a girl was just holding up a shin guard with a pen in her hand, and she was just holding it straight up in the air, and just bawling her eyes out, just crying because she probably wanted an autograph,” Gressel said. “Leo and those guys bring out so many emotions and people because of what they do or did on the field, right?”
Even though the two-time MLS Cup Champion looks up to Messi and the former Barcelona stars, it’s different than most. It’s not lost on him of the kinds of players he calls teammates, but when they’re just that, a sense of normalcy has to set in.
Still, that stardom rubs off on all the players on the roster. During hotel stays, the club often uses a service elevator to avoid fans flocking them in the lobby and on their floor. But when it came time for a workout, Gressel couldn’t avoid the chaos.
