'We have a plan' - Lionel Messi warned New York Red Bulls will try to 'stop him any way possible' ahead of expected MLS debut for Inter Miami

New York Red Bulls «have a plan» to stop Lionel Messi «any way possible» ahead of expected MLS debut with Inter Miami.

WHAT HAPPENED? Messi mania has engulfed the United States as the Argentine forward has been in incredible form, with goal contributions in his last eight games, and has looked unstoppable for The Herons since he joined from Paris Saint-Germain.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has completely transformed Inter Miami and his next task is to catapult the David Beckham co-owned side into the play-offs. Miami endured a horrendous start to their MLS campaign and are currently bottom with 18 points from 22 games.

WHAT THEY SAID: However, Red Bulls manager Troy Lesesne insisted that he has a «plan» to stop Messi from wreaking havoc when the teams meet.

“Our preparation is solely focused around what we want to do. If that includes the best player in the world, maybe of all time, then we have a plan for that, or if he’s not included in the starting 11,” he said.

«We’re going to focus on us and how we want to go about the way we want to play this match. What he’s done for the league is incredible, and what he’s done for the game is incredible. I would say it’s a huge challenge, number one. But this is an extremely important match for us, and the number one reason is that we want to better our position and try to get into the playoffs. Clearly, it’s also an important match because of who’s playing. Not only Messi. … There’s a lot of good players on their team.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Midfielder Daniel Edelman has also been discussing how to handle Messi.

»There’s two ways I look at it. Definitely a dream come true. [Messi] was one of the first players I looked up to,” he said. «The other side is he’[s another guy on the