MLS 2024 schedule: Messi, Miami to kick off season on Feb. 21

Argentine great Lionel Messi will kick off his first full Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign on February 21 when Inter Miami begins the 2024 regular season at home with a match against Real Salt Lake, the league announced Wednesday.

Messi's club, which he joined in July after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract, will be in the spotlight again four days later when Miami travels to LA Galaxy in a match that will highlight an entire series of stocks from the opening week.

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Among its 34 regular season matches, Messi's club will also travel to Orlando City SC on May 15 during MLS Rivalry Week. Miami's final regular season game will be Oct. 19 at the New England Revolution.

The matches were announced along with the full schedule for the 2024 MLS regular season, which will conclude on October 19, followed by the MLS Cup Playoffs and culminating with the MLS Cup on December 7.

Messi, a World Cup champion and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the world's best player, has made an immediate impact with Miami on and off the pitch since his arrival.

The Argentine forward scored a stoppage-time winner on his Miami debut and has scored 11 goals in 14 appearances in all MLS competitions while leading the club to its first ever trophy by winning the final of the League Cup.

Messi's arrival has also been credited with a rise in prices for tickets, merchandise and subscriptions to Apple TV's MLS Season Pass, which broadcasts matches live. Miami also said season tickets for their 2024 campaign are already sold out.

On Wednesday, the Leagues Cup, a tournament involving teams from MLS and Liga MX, also announced the dates of the event won by Inter Miami in its first edition.

The 2024 League Cup will be played from July 26 to August 25. MLS regular season matches are not scheduled in this window.

The tournament will begin two days after the MLS All-Star Game, which will be played July 24 in Columbus.