Lionel Messi scores incredible solo goal as Inter Miami hammer Montreal — Video
Messi, 38, was back in MLS action after Inter Miami reached the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup but were knocked out by reigning European champions PSG.
Javier Mascherano's side have had a rollercoaster start to their 2025 MLS season but a comfortable win away at Montreal underlines their aim to kick on and get back on top of the standings in the Eastern Conference as they have plenty of games in-hand over their rivals.
Messi scored twice (his first was a beauty too) and added an assist in the 4-1 win at Montreal and Mascherano will be hoping his star player can keep this kind of form going for the rest of the year as Miami aim to win MLS Cup.
Watch Lionel Messi scores stunning solo goal for Inter Miami at Montreal
Picking the ball up 45 yards from goal, Messi showed he still has that famous burst of pace to get past the first few defenders.
He then somehow jinxed past four more defenders with fast feet and trickery and he then finished off calmly.
Messi has delivered some magic moments since he joined Inter Miami but this has to be the best goal he's scored since he arrived in MLS.
Ankara Messi, Ankara Messi, Ankara Messi Ankara Messi, Ankara Messi . 🐐 pic.twitter.com/DsvmC73hns
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USA Today
19 minutes ago
- USA Today
Inter Miami adds Lionel Messi friend and World Cup champion to MLS roster
Inter Miami will add another one of Lionel Messi's close friends and a third World Cup champion to its roster. Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, 31, has agreed to join Messi and Inter Miami on a loan transfer from La Liga's Atlético de Madrid, both sides announced on Friday, July 25. De Paul's loan will last through the 2025 MLS season, and the deal includes an option to make the transfer permanent through the 2029 MLS season. De Paul will be introduced before Inter Miami's match against FC Cincinnati at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 'What brings me to Inter Miami is the desire to compete, win titles, to write the pages in the club's history,' De Paul said in a statement. 'It's a club that is shaping up to be great, to have a long history, so that many people follow this incredible team.' De Paul is considered one of Messi's closest friends from the Argentine national team. Together, they won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024. They could also play together again with Argentina in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Messi has yet to declare he will play in the next World Cup. Ready. Set. Go. 💗 Inter Miami's signing of De Paul also bodes well for the club's aspirations to re-sign Messi, 38, who is signed through the rest of the 2025 MLS season. With the club in ongoing contract negotiations he could re-sign at least through 2026. 'Rodrigo is a player I've admired for many years. As a leader he has brought so much to the teams he has played for … I'm excited to welcome another World Cup winning player not just to Inter Miami, but also to MLS,' Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham said in a statement. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas added: 'We're thrilled to sign a player of Rodrigo's caliber. He is a winner who has conquered the world stage. His ambitions match ours at Inter Miami, and we are hungry to achieve these goals together.' De Paul had one year remaining on a five-year deal signed in 2021 with Atlético. Now, he'll join Messi's slew of former FC Barcelona teammates with the MLS club. Messi joined Inter Miami with left back Jordi Alba and midfielder Sergio Busquets, the Spain World Cup champion, in July 2023. Luis Suarez joined them in 2024. And Javier Mascherano is in his first season coaching the squad. It's unclear when De Paul could debut. After Inter Miami hosts FC Cincinnati, they will begin the 2025 Leagues Cup tournament between MLS and Liga MX teams from Mexico. Inter Miami will host Atlas FC on July 30, Club Necaxa on Aug. 2 and Pumas UNAM on Aug. 6 in the first phase of the Leagues Cup tournament, which they won in 2023.
Miami Herald
19 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Rodrigo De Paul joins Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, may make debut in Leagues Cup
Lionel Messi will have another close friend and longtime teammate by his side for the remainder of this Inter Miami season and beyond. As the Miami Herald and other outlets reported last week, Rodrigo De Paul, Messi's midfield mate on Argentina's national team, is headed to Inter Miami from Spanish club Atletico Madrid on a four-year loan-to-buy deal. The loan will run through 2025 with an option to make the transfer permanent through the 2029 MLS season.. The official announcement came from the club on Friday night. De Paul will be unveiled to the home fans during Saturday's pregame at 7 p.m. at Chase Stadium prior to Inter Miami's game against FC Cincinnati, which Messi and Jordi Alba will miss after being suspended by MLS for skipping the All-Star Game on Wednesday. 'What brings me to Inter Miami is the desire to compete, win titles, to write the pages in the club's history,' said De Paul. 'It's a club that is shaping up to be great, to have a long history, so that many people follow this incredible team.' De Paul, a World Cup champion and two-time Copa America winner, will join the squad and begin training with the team upon the receipt of his P-1 Visa and ITC. Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas spent more than a week in Madrid in early July finalizing the deal, which includes a transfer/buyout fee in the $12 million to $15 million range, with potential for a higher fee if incentives are met. De Paul is expected to make his Inter Miami debut during the Leagues Cup, which kicks off July 30 with a home game against Mexican club Atlas. The next two Leagues Cup games are against Necaxa Aug. 2 and Pumas Aug. 6, both at Chase Stadium. 'Assembling a team that inspires our fans to dream continues to be one of our primary aspirations, so we're thrilled to sign a player of Rodrigo's caliber,' said Mas. 'He is a winner who has conquered the world stage; his ambitions match ours at Inter Miami, and we are hungry to achieve these goals together. 'Several of the best players in global fútbol have already chosen Inter Miami as their home, and Rodrigo joining our roster is another landmark as we continue on this journey to change the trajectory of the sport in this country and make our fans proud.' Co-owner David Beckham added: ''Rodrigo is a player I've admired for many years. As a leader he has brought so much to the teams he has played for - especially with his national team Argentina. He brings experience, passion and quality to our team and to our city. I'm excited to welcome another World Cup winning player not just to Inter Miami, but also to MLS.' The move adds a top-tier 31-year-old central midfielder to the Miami roster as the team aims to compete for the Leagues Cup title and the MLS Cup after a disappointing first round exit from the playoffs last season. De Paul joined Atletico Madrid in 2021 from Udinese for a $41 million fee. His contract with the Spanish club expires in June 2026, but he decided to make the move to the United States now. Nicknamed 'El Motorcito' (Little Motor) for his tireless work rate, De Paul will get to train and work with Messi every day in the buildup to the 2026 World Cup, which is being hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer. He is a box-to-box midfielder who played a crucial role for Argentina in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America. Over 11 seasons in Italy and Spain, De Paul has played 356 games, scored 45 goals and had 56 assists. He earned Copa América 2021 and 2024 Team of the Tournament honors, and most recently featured in the La Liga Team of the Season for the 2024-25 campaign. De Paul began his career in the youth ranks at Racing Club in Argentina prior to being promoted to the first team and making his professional debut in February 2013. He went on to establish himself as a key player for Racing before leaving for Europe in 2014. Fox Sports commentator Alexi Lalas believes De Paul is a perfect fit for Inter Miami and MLS. 'He is in his prime and the style in which he plays, I think will translate immediately to what Major League Soccer is,' Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. 'I'm not saying he's crude or anything, but there is a ruggedness and a rawness to his game that is what makes him one of the greats in the world. I think it's going to translate. I think it's what Inter Miami needs.' Lalas went on to praise Inter Miami owners Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham for making 'bold' moves to spend big and sign marquee players. 'I love that Inter Miami and Jorge Mas and David Beckham want to push the envelope,' Lalas said. 'They want to do big things, and they should be given the ability to do that, Yes, within the rules. 'People are yelling and saying, 'Oh, Inter Miami's getting favorable treatment.' Yeah. OK. If somebody wants to do something big that's going to benefit the team, and it's going to benefit the league, they are going to be given some leeway. And there's nothing stopping you, whatever team it is - Columbus or Colorado or anybody else out there - from thinking big and doing big. 'Yes, there is an attraction to Messi. Yes, there is an attraction to someplace like Miami that maybe other teams don't have. But if you want to spend big money and you want to do big, bold, dare I say it, arrogant things, I will support you, 100 percent.' A charismatic player with a fashion flair, De Paul is a big fan of Beckham's and emulated the English star's hairdos, from the braids to the pulled-back half-ponytail to the hairband to the bleached blond look. Like Beckham, whose wife Victoria was a singer with the Spice Girls, De Paul has a pop star girlfriend, Tini Stoessel, who is from Argentina and has a home in Miami. De Paul did a stint with Spanish club Valencia from 2014-16, when Gary Neville was the coach there. Phil Neville, Gary's brother and the former Inter Miami coach, was an assistant coach with Valencia at that time and has fond memories of De Paul. 'He was a very talented young player with great energy and enthusiasm to play football,' Neville told the Miami Herald. 'He worked so hard every day, and you could tell he was going to have a really great career. He had an infectious personality in the locker room and was loved by all his teammates.' Messi has the same type of telepathy with De Paul as he does with Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. De Paul always knows where Messi is, provides delivery to the Argentine icon and takes on the role of enforcer/bodyguard when the two are on the field together. Messi already has a professional bodyguard, Yassine Cheuko, and now he will have a second. Suarez, 38, and Busquets, 37, have not renewed their contracts, which expire at the end of this season. Busquets will make $8.8 million this season, second-highest salary on the team behind Messi ($20.5 million), and Suarez makes $1.5 million. Neither player has addressed his future, but if Suarez and/or Busquets retire at the end of the year, De Paul will fulfill the role of world-class midfielder and confidant for Messi. MLS rules allow just three Designated Players with salaries exceeding the league maximum. Right now, those are Messi, Busquets and Jordi Alba, who recently signed a contract extension through 2027. Messi has not signed his contract extension yet, but negotiations have been ongoing for months, and the deal is expected to be completed soon. Messi's initial contract with Miami is valued at $150 million, with a large piece of that coming from equity in the club upon his retirement. He is expected to continue playing at least through 2026, the first season in Miami Freedom Park Stadium, which is under construction and scheduled to open early next year.
Fox News
20 minutes ago
- Fox News
Inter Miami owner rips MLS over decision to suspend star Lionel Messi: 'That's not right'
Jorge Mas, the owner of Inter Miami, blasted Major League Soccer's decision to suspend Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba for one game. Messi and Alba will be sidelined for Inter Miami's match against Eastern Conference-leading Cincinnati FC Saturday. Both players skipped Wednesday's MLS All-Star game in Austin, Texas, despite receiving enough votes. The major league All-Stars defeated the Liga MX All-Stars 3-1. But Mas asserted the league's decision was a "draconian" punishment. "They don't understand the decision," Mas said Friday. "They don't understand why not attending an exhibition match leads directly to a suspension." Messi, the captain of Argentina's 2022 World Cup champion team, cited the need to rest instead of competing in the All-Star game. Meanwhile, Alba was dealing with a previous injury. Mas said the club made the decision for Messi and Alba to sit out of the All-Star Game. According to MLS rules, any player who doesn't participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in his club's next match. Messi and Alba practiced with the club Friday in anticipation of playing in Saturday's match before MLS announced the suspension. "I know Lionel Messi loves this league," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "I don't think there's a player — or anyone — who has done more for Major League Soccer than Messi. I fully understand, respect and admire his commitment to Inter Miami, and I respect his decision. "Unfortunately, we have a long-standing policy regarding participation in the All-Star Game, and we had to enforce it. It was a very difficult decision." Garber added that the league will reevaluate the policy and work with players to "determine how the rule should evolve." Mas said Inter Miami expressed its disagreement over the suspension and the rule. Mas also noted there were six MLS games Friday night, less than 48 hours after an All-Star Game. "That's not right," Mas said. "That's not right to the players."
