Club World Cup clash rekindles Barca bonds

Lionel Messi will spearhead a Barcelona reunion like no other when Inter Miami face Paris Saint-Germain in a tantalising last-16 showdown at the Club World Cup in Atlanta on Sunday.

The Argentine great will be joined by ex-Barca teammates Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets-- all of whom once flourished under current PSG boss Luis Enrique.

It's a fixture dripping with history and emotional subplots. The four Miami stars famously featured in the 2016-17 Champions League campaign that saw Barcelona pull off a miraculous 6-1 second-leg comeback to knock PSG out, overturning a 4-0 first-leg deficit in what remains one of football's most jaw-dropping nights.

Now, years later, the stage is set for a reunion-- but with loyalties shifted and stakes just as high. PSG, finally Champions League winners this season under Enrique's guidance, arrive as heavy favourites.

Yet Miami, runners-up in Group A after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Palmeiras, are not short on belief or pedigree.

Luis Suarez, who scored in that match and was named man of the match, acknowledged the challenge ahead: "If we make these mistakes against PSG we will pay a heavy price. We're facing the European champions, but we must take our chances."

The 38-year-old striker remains a threat, and with Messi pulling the strings, anything feels possible.

Miami coach Javier Mascherano, another former Barça man, summed it up with a fighter's spirit: "They are probably better than us, but in football you never know. Maybe Sunday will be our day."

For Luis Enrique, it's not just a tactical battle--it's a reunion with players he once molded into legends. "He made me even more competitive," Suarez said of the Spanish tactician.