Messi's Miami teammate Gressel said star wouldn't accept ties - ESPN

Midfielder Julian Gressel said Lionel Messi demanded Inter Miami CF reach higher standards, going as far as to label ties throughout the season as «unacceptable.»

«It's demanding [in the locker room with Messi]. You're talking about the player with the most wins in the history of the game,» Gressel said on the «Major League Journeymen» podcast. «They're coming in and they're expecting the same, and you as a teammate, you kind of have to get accustomed to that and get used to that with Messi, [Luis] Suárez, [Sergio] Busquets and [Jordi] Alba.

»It's unacceptable to tie a game, as simple as that. We tied a game earlier in the year and I remember him being really really upset in the locker room, he's like, 'We shouldn't tie, we can't tie.'"

Gressel said at one point in the season, then-manager Gerardo Martino tried to step in and calm Messi down, telling him: «It's OK to draw sometimes, we can't just win everything, it's not how this league works.»

«But for [Messi], his aura is that,» Gressel added.

Inter Miami concluded the 2024 MLS campaign with the Supporters' Shield and set the league record for most points in a single season before losing to Atlanta United FC in the first round of playoffs. Though the team managed a historic 22-4-8 (W-L-D) record, Gressel emphasized tension would rise inside the locker room after a negative result and lead Suárez to occasionally confront players about individual performances.

«When it comes to the game or when it comes to being serious, it's being serious and it's time,» Gressel said. «If you're not doing your part, you're getting it, like, you're hearing it. You notice they're not content. [Messi has] addressed other guys directly, he's more so quiet, but you have guys like Luis, who's