Messi ‘godfather’ takes over Inter Miami after HEATED bus incident

Lionel Messi has been the spark of a reshuffle at Inter Miami after a heated incident on the team bus with a club director.

Inter Miami have benefitted from building around their star man, bringing in a number of Messi’s friends and former teammates such as Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets as well as hiring ex-Argentina international Javier Mascherano as their manager.

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And it appears Messi’s influence has continued at board level, with GIVEMESPORT reporting that president of football operations Raul Sanllehi has been reassigned away from the first team and to a role at the club’s office facilities.

The change comes following an alleged ‘exchange of words’ after Sanllehi entered the ‘players and coaches only’ bus after a pre-season friendly against Club America in Las Vegas earlier this month.

However, Inter Miami have been quick to brush away rumours of discontent by insisting that Sanllehi’s move to a new role was ‘pre-planned’ to happen this month.

A spokesperson told GIVEMESPORT: “Raul’s move was pre-planned, in coordination with the closing of the window at the end of January and the many activities that the team has with the Club World Cup, World Cup and other matters pertaining to institutional relations.”

Messi’s ‘godfather’ replaces Sanllehi in Miami

Sanllehi arrived at Inter Miami last year as the club’s leading figure for footballing decisions, having spent time at Arsenal in a similar role between 2018 and 2020.

But the Spaniard will now be replaced by Guillermo Hoyos, a man who Messi once called his ‘godfather’ and ‘footballing dad’, having worked with the forward as a youth coach with Barcelona.

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“He was my footballing dad,” Messi said in 2010. “He’s helped me a lot since I came to Barça. He was always with me, showing me things and has brought me to where I am today, the first division. I’m grateful that he is my footballing godfather.”

Messi and Hoyos have maintained a strong relationship since and the Argentine coach becomes the latest figure with Barcelona connections to join Inter Miami as the MLS side prepare for the upcoming new season.