MATCHDAY: Does Inter Miami's Club World Cup foe PSG have a lesson for the Herons? | OneFootball

French super-club PSG found glory after superstars left Paris

Today's the day! Finally, Club Internacional de Futbol Miami and Paris Saint-Germain will step onto the same pitch and compete for a berth in the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinals, and I feel like a kid just opening his eyes on Christmas morning.

On paper, this is a colossal mismatch. Inter Miami aspires to being a global brand; PSG is a global brand. The Parisians have won 11 Ligue 1 titles since Qatar Sports Investments bought the club in 2011 and 13 since they began playing in 1970; the Herons, whose first season was 2020, have never won an MLS Cup and barely sniffed the playoffs. Paris Saint-Germain's roster costs about $220 million; Miami, Major League Soccer's biggest spenders, are shelling out less than $50 million. Les Rouges et Bleu won their first European championship with a 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan on May 31; the Pink & Black have qualified for its continental tournament twice, falling in the semifinals earlier this year to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Inter Miami CF vs. Paris Saint-Germain, noon EDT, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.; watch free on the DAZN app (sign up for a free account here), TNT or truTV.

One of these things is not like the other. Except, perhaps, in one way. Both teams' ownership groups are very ambitious and willing to spend money to get what they want. Inter Miami, with the help of MLS and some corporate sponsors, shocked the world in 2023 by convincing Lionel Messi to come to South Florida. The all-time great Argentine had completed his two-year commitment to, surprise, Paris Saint-Germain wanted out of Ligue 1. The Herons' owners, brothers Jorge and Jose Mas and former England great David Beckham, have consistently said IMCF would be a world-class organization with a global fan base, and finding a way to sign Messi signaled the seriousness of their commitment.

Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, former Messi teammates at Barcelona, joined soon after. The Herons have added two more Barcelona legends since that initial splash, striker Luis Suarez and center back Javier Mascherano, who became Inter Miami's coach after Tata Martino left the club for personal reasons.

Alba, Busquets and Messi helped Los Garzas earn their first "major" trophy, the Liga MX/MLS Leagues Cup, in 2023. The Herons looked ahead to filling their award cases with hardware as well as their coffers with money but, other than last season's Supporters Shield for best regular season (a league-record 74 points), that hasn't happened, at least not yet.