SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake will get a taste of the blinding world spotlight as the team faces superstar Lionel Messi to kickoff the upcoming 2024 MLS season.
During the league-wide schedule unveiling Wednesday, RSL learned it will travel to South Florida on Feb. 21 to open against Inter Miami FC and the eight-time Ballon D'Or winner in Messi.
Incredibly, the meeting will mark the first-ever match between the two clubs, despite Inter Miami having been a part of the league for five years.
Messi-mania swept MLS over the summer as the star joined Inter Miami in the middle of the season and instantly became one of the biggest stories in soccer.
After another road game in St. Louis, Real Salt Lake will return to Utah to open its home schedule March 2 against LAFC, followed a week later by another home contest vs. Colorado.
RSL finished 11th overall during the 2023 season, missing the postseason after dropping a road shootout tiebreaker.
