Inter Miami has removed Raul Sanllehi from all sporting decisions while promoting club academy director Guillermo Hoyos to the position. Hoyos is a longtime confidant and former academy coach of Lionel Messi.
The move follows a report that Sanllehi entered a players and coaches-only bus after Miami’s match against Club America in Las Vegas, a move that led to an “exchange of words” with Messi.
Hoyos first worked with Messi while training Barcelona’s U-18 side, from 2000 to 2003. At the time, he likened Messi to Maradona and the two have remained close, with Messi describing Hoyos as his “football godfather” in a 2010 interview.