Mascherano dismisses reports suggesting rift with Messi

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano has rubbished media reports claiming a rift between him and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.

Mascherano and Messi were involved in a heated debate during the 5-3 defeat to Chicago Fire last week at the Chase Stadium.

Miami were 2-0 down in the match before Tomas Aviles put them back on track. They tied 3-3 in the second half when Luis Suarez scored a brace.

However, the visiting team scored two more goals to clinch the victory in the final phase of the game.

Miami’s coach and Lionel Messi were captured by the cameras having an intense exchange, which sparked speculation of a rift between the two.

Mascherano has downplayed the rumours circulating, saying he was discussing tactics with Messi.

“There’s no problem with Leo...It came out in the press that he was challenging me, which is really nonsense,” said Mascherano.

“We were talking about Chicago’s low block. If you look at the game, after their first two goals, they played a very low block, and there was little space to find between the lines.

“It was a space problem, because they had dropped back very well, and it was very difficult to find space between the lines. It was a problem that I saw and that we tried to talk about in the locker room.”

Inter Miami secured a 4-1 victory over New England on Sunday and have already qualified for the Major League Soccer playoffs.

Jordi Alba and Tadeo Allende each scored two goals; Messi did not score for the second consecutive match, but he contributed by assisting on three of the four goals.