From Finland to celebrating goals with Messi. It’s been quite a ride for Robert Taylor
Inter Miami winger Robert Taylor never imagined when he left his native Finland in 2022 bound for South Florida that a year and a half later Lionel Messi, yes, that Lionel Messi, would deliver him a sublime assist and then sprint across the DRV PNK Stadium field to celebrate the goal with him.
Nor did he ever dream that he would provide an assist for Messi in that same game and then share a group hug with the Argentine icon.
But that is exactly what happened last Tuesday night, as Taylor and Messi each scored two goals in a 4-0 rout of Atlanta United in the group stage of the Leagues Cup tournament.
Taylor also scored the first goal in Messi’s debut game against Cruz Azul on July 21. The 28-year-old Finn said the addition of Messi and former FC Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has made him, and everyone else on the team, play at a higher level.
“They bring so much quality and they bring the best out of everyone else as well,” he told the Miami Herald on Saturday. “For the past two games, I’ve done well because I feel it suits my role to play on the left, come inside making runs while Messi cuts inside. He helped my game a lot, Busquets, too. He makes the midfielders have time on the ball.
“I played with [Busquets] in the middle and every time he’d give me the ball, I’d have so much time. He knows when to release it. And Messi, he’s the best player in the world. So, it’s just an honor to play with them. Hopefully, it stays the same, and we keep on winning games and they can help us do that.”
At first, Taylor admits, “everyone was a bit starstruck” being around Messi and Busquets when they arrived in early July.
“Of course, the first time I saw Messi in the changing room, I was like, ‘Whoa, like, this is crazy,’ but I was never intimidated by him, or Busquets because they are such nice guys, always smiling,” Taylor said. “If anything, it just makes me so excited to come to training every morning knowing that I can train with these players and be around them and they can make me a better player. Most of the players would agree that it’s just exciting. Everyone wants to play with the best players in the world. And we are privileged enough to be able to do that.”
Taylor, whose father Paul played professional soccer in England and Finland, had bounced around between England and Finland himself before making the move to MLS. He spent his youth years at Finnish team JJK and English teams Nottingham Forest, Barnet and Lincoln City. Most of his senior career was in Finland, and after a few years at Tromso and Brann, he was looking for a change.
Inter Miami happened to be seeking a skilled winger in his price range and the team’s date analytics department put Taylor on the short list. The club’s Scandinavian scout did more research, sporting director and Chris Henderson and then-coach Phil Neville spoke to him and offered Brann a $500,000 transfer fee.
“We spoke to him on the phone on Zoom, had a really good chat and he’s so hungry, he has something to prove, and I love that,” Neville said at the time. “When we were bidding for him, it was a real hard negotiation with his club. They wanted top dollar for him. He kept pushing, kept calling, messaging, pushing, calling, messaging. I told Chris, ‘We have got to find a way to get this boy at this club,’ so we put our money where our mouth was because of his attitude and hunger to come here and succeed.”
Taylor said Miami showed the most interest in him of the teams he spoke to, and the feeling was mutual.
“I feel very I feel very lucky to be in Miami, especially right now with everything that’s going on,” he said. “And, of course, Miami is a great place to live. I played in Norway and Sweden and Finland where winter was nine months and now, I’m in a place where it’s summer for 12 months.”
Taylor loves to play billiards and is the team’s best ball juggler. He competed in freestyle soccer until age 14, and was quite successful, performing eye-popping juggling tricks. Every once in a while, he pulls out some tricks while juggling the ball with Inter Miami teammates.
Asked if he has showed his skills off to Messi, Taylor smiled and said, “Not yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he can do all the tricks. He is Leo Messi.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2023 at 6:40 PM.