02 Sep 156310 98979

‘s project of turning Miami into ‘ West’ could be taking a further step with the addition of Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal.

Speaking to TNT Sports Argentina, the 36-year-old Vidal said he’s open to making the trip stateside.

‘I would happily go and play with Messi,’ Vidal said. ‘With him it’s very easy, you just have to pass him the ball. In the United States there are several rules that prevent more older players from going, that’s why it hasn’t happened before. 

‘I would be delighted to play with Leo, Busquets – they play by heart and now Inter Miami plays like that too, with a good coach [Tata Martino].

This revelation is an interesting one for Vidal – especially because he just completed a move to Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense this summer from his previous club, Flamengo.

Vidal played for two seasons at Barcelona – scoring eleven goals in 96 matches for liverpool drakt the Blaugrana – and winning the 2018-19 La Liga title.

Before then, Vidal was a European rival of Messi’s – logging 171 matches with Juventus and 124 matches with Bayern Munich.

Vidal started the 2015 UEFA Champions League final with Juventus that resulted in a 3-1 Barcelona victory.

He also has significant history with Messi at the international level. Vidal’s Chilean sides beat Argentina in back-to-back Copa America Finals both at home in Chile in 2015, then again the following year in the United States.

Vidal said that even though the 36-year-old Messi is getting up there in age, he expects the greatest of all time to continue to play for his country.

‘I see Messi playing for a long time with the Argentine team,’ Vidal said. ‘He enjoys it and is happy wearing the Argentine shirt.’