“Will no longer attend games”, “Worst mistake” - Orlando City fans furious as club announce similar stadium name to rivals Lionel Messi's Inter Miami

MLS outfit Orlando City's fans are furious as the naming rights for their stadium were taken over by financial firm Inter&Co. The home venue has been renamed to "Inter&Co Stadium," making the name similar to Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.

As both the clubs hail from the US state of Florida, they have a growing local rivalry. The Orlando fans are not pleased with the stadium's renaming, and they have taken to various forms of social media to vent their frustrations.

One fan exclaimed:

"Thats it. I will no longer attend games until they change that atrocious name."

Another one added:

"This is the worst mistake… why name the stadium with the same name as our rival team?"

Here are a few more reactions on X:

Lionel Messi's Inter Miami are currently on a pre-season tour that spans a total of almost 39,000 kilometers. They drew their first match 0-0 against the El Salvador national team, and will now be heading to Dallas to take on FC Dallas. They then have a long Asian leg, traveling to Riyadh, Hong Kong, and Tokyo before finally heading back to their headquarters in Miami.

Messi will be looking to fire Miami to an MLS title in his first full season at the club. With the signing of Luis Suarez from Gremio, the 36-year-old icon once again has his ex-Barcelona players Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Suarez to assist him in this quest.

Inter Miami are one of the favorites to lift the 2024 MLS title, having curated one of the best squads in the entire league. Inspired by Messi's 10 goals and an assist in seven games, they already won their first trophy in the form of the Leagues Cup last year.

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El Salvador welcome Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in style

In their first stop of their global pre-season tour, Inter Miami and Lionel Messi were welcomed in style to San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.

The atmosphere was crazy as thousands of ecstatic fans filled the streets just to catch a glimpse of the Argentine legend.

Inter Miami played out a 0-0 draw against the El Salvador national team in a hybrid friendly. Messi's side dominated the statsheets, with 67% possession and outpassing their opposition by almost 300, but chances were few and far between.

The Herons, as Inter Miami are referred to, were wasteful with their passes as they struggled to make their way into the final third. El Salvador were also on top of their defensive game, as their keeper Mario Martinez made three huge saves. The overall signs, however, were positive for Inter Miami, as they get ready for the MLS season ahead.