Club World Cup: Messi Meets Some Old Friends

Paris Saint-Germain VS Inter Miami

PSG are set to face Inter Miami in the Club World Cup Round of 16 on Sunday, with the competition now at the do-or-die phase.

As European champions, the Club World Cup 2025 betting odds have backed PSG from the off, and Luis Enrique’s side would love nothing more than to add this prestigious trophy to their Champions League crown. But Javier Mascherano’s Herons are nothing if not ambitious, and they have a raft of household names in their ranks, the great Lionel Messi for one.

The Argentine maestro is most famous for his glittering career at Barcelona where, between 2004 and 2021, he scored an incredible 474 goals in La Liga, winning 10 Primera Division medals and four Champions League winners medals, and he is the record eight-time winner of the Ballon d’Or.

Messi then made the surprise move to PSG in 2021, and there, in a fractious front three alongside his mate Neymar and the Brazilian’s nemesis, Kylian Mbappe, he won two Ligue 1 titles, scoring 22 goals in the two seasons before packing his bags for Miami in 2023. He has enjoyed his time with the Herons as they won the Supporters Shield last season, and he has proved he has still got it, bagging 31 goals in 38 MLS games.

His time in Paris is now water under the bridge, and there will be no hard feelings when he meets his old team in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday. In any case, Mbappe is long gone to Real Madrid, and the French side is in perfectly good spirits at the moment.

PSG secured top spot in Group B to book their place against Miami, who finished second in Group A, and the SBOTOP odds say the French side will progress to the last eight, but they can expect plenty of problems when they meet Messi and co. on Sunday.

 

Talking Points

Kvaradona stars for PSG

Enrique’s team made the last 16 relatively comfortably, thrashing Atletico Madrid 4-0 and seeing off Seattle 2-0, but they had a setback when they lost 1-0 to Botafogo in their second match. It was the biggest Club World Cup 2025 news of the tournament so far, as Igor Jesus netted the winner for the Brazilians, but PSG recovered nicely to beat the Americans.

Since his transfer from Napoli in January, Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has become a firm favourite at the Parc des Princes with his wing trickery, which earned him the nickname “Kvaradona” in Naples. He won the rare accolade of being a league winner in two countries in 2025, as he helped PSG win the Ligue 1 title with eight goals in 28 games, while Napoli won the Scudetto for the second time in three years.

Still only 24 years of age, Kvaratskhelia is already one of the best players in Europe, and he has shown what he can do in the USA with two assists already. He will be PSG’s biggest threat on Sunday and one man who might even upstage the great Messi. 

 

Herons aim to continue the fun

Miami started the competition with a 0-0 draw against Al-Ahly before beating FC Porto 2-1 and drawing 2-2 with Palmeiras. That took them through to the knockout phase, and now they want to establish themselves as the most successful MLS side in the history of the Club World Cup.    

Messi and his old Barcelona mate Luis Suarez have both been on target, with the Argentine bagging his goal in the crucial win over Porto. And these two, along with another former Blaugrana star, Sergio Busquets, will be the star attractions when Miami heads down to Georgia.  

 

History

With 13 league titles and now, finally, a Champions League crown, PSG are certainly European heavyweights. Meanwhile, Inter Miami, part-owned by former England star David Beckham, broke through in the MLS last year with their first Supporters Shield.  

This is the first time PSG and Inter Miami have met, but they both come into the game in fine form. The Parisiens have won five and lost one of the last six games, while the Americans have won three and drawn three.      

 

Betting Tip

Miami are priced at 8.68 to spring a major surprise and win this game, with the draw available at 5.89, and PSG are down at 1.20 to win this game. The French are priced at 1.96 with that two-goal disadvantage, and I don’t think they will find it easy against Inter Miami, as indeed they didn’t against Botafogo.

I don’t expect Enrique’s team to better their effort against Seattle, and the most likely scorelines are 2-0 to Paris at odds of 7.52, with 2-1 at 9.25. Don’t rule out an upset either.

   

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