The unprecedented experience that Messi will live this Monday against Al-Hilal

After the 0-0 draw against El Salvador and the 1-0 defeat against FC Dallas, this Monday Inter Miami will start their tour in Asia. The first stop is Saudi Arabia, where they will participate in the Riyadh Season Cup. There they will have two matches, the first one this Monday against Al-Hilal, the leaders of the Pro League standings, and on Thursday against Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo's team.

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For coach Gerardo Martino it will be a good opportunity to test his team against opponents who have top players, such as goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and Renan Lodi, midfielders Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and forwards Michael, Malcom and Aleksandar Mitrovic. The one who will obviously be absent is Neymar, who is recovering from knee surgery and will not play again until next season.

Thousands of fans in Saudi Arabia will fill the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh to enjoy the talent of Lionel Messi, who will be accompanied by other former Barcelona players such as Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez. However, for Leo it will be a special occasion, as he will have to face a situation that had never happened to him before almost 20 years of professional career.

According to Olé newspaper, Al-Hilal vs Inter Miami will have a female referee. It will be the Brazilian Edina Alves Batista, who usually performs in matches in her country's league, as well as in international tournaments. She has been a FIFA referee since 2016 and has participated in top-level competitions such as Women's World Cup, Club World Cup, Copa Libertadores and Olympic Games.

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What's next for The Herons?

Three days after facing Al-Hilal, Inter Miami will have their second match for the Riyadh Season Cup against Al-Nassr. Then they will travel to Hong Kong to face an all-star team from the local league and finally they will play in Tokyo against Vissel Kobe. That will be their last game in Asia, so they will then return to Miami to face Newell's Old Boys from Argentina and prepare for the start of the 2024 Major League Soccer season.