Cristiano Ronaldo’s Former Teammate Praises Lionel Messi After Ageless Performance

Lionel Messi’s four-goal performance was the type of thing Casemiro hoped would come with his new MLS side.

Lionel Messi took over the MLS Golden Boot lead on Saturday. | Inter Miami

When Casemiro inked a deal with Inter Miami after playing a key role for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup, he did so with Lionel Messi in mind. 

Having played with Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. and other greats, he wanted the chance to lace up his boots alongside the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. 

“He’s one of the Gods of football,” Casemiro said soon after signing a deal through the 2027 MLS sprint season with an option through June 2029. “Having played against Leo before, I already knew he was impossible to stop, but these two days have given me a lot of motivation to keep growing, to keep winning.”

On Saturday, he got to witness Messi at his best, as the Argentine scored four goals in a 7–1 trouncing of CF Montréal, snapping Miami’s five-game winless skid across all competitions and claiming their first MLS win since last beating a struggling Montréal 1–0 on July 25 in Casemiro’s debut. 

It wasn’t lost on the Brazilian midfielder—who stepped into a rare center back role—how special it was to play alongside Messi in such a performance, after scoring his first Herons goal off a corner kick in the 20th minute. 

“That’s what it means to have Messi on the team,” he told Apple TV after the match. “We have to enjoy these moments because he is a person, a player who makes history ... We saw today that we have to enjoy it, keep supporting and keep competing with him because he continues to be the best. He proved it in the World Cup. We have to enjoy it because, with him, we are so much stronger.”

The performance lofted Messi atop the MLS Golden Boot race, bringing him to 18 goals and 10 assists in 19 games, as he chases back-to-back scoring titles and a third-straight MLS MVP Award. 

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Miami’s Regular Season Glory Hopes Dwindling

Casemiro (left) and Lionel Messi (right) have proven unable to contend with Nashville SC’s incredible season. | CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/Getty Images

Miami captured their largest win in club history with the victory against Montréal. Still, it did little to save their hopes of contending for the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Eastern Conference title, as they remain 10 points behind Nashville SC, who thrashed FC Cincinnati 4–0 at the same time. 

Sitting third in MLS behind Nashville and Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps, the Herons will need to stack points down the stretch, while hoping teams around them struggle. If not, it could make the postseason more challenging as they look to defend their 2025 MLS Cup title. 

Things are moving in the right direction, though, even if the team can be too reliant on Messi’s influence at times. A new manager, Cristian “Kily” Gonzalez, is set to take the reins from the struggling Guillermo Hoyos and could instill a reinvigorated effort to chase more consistent form. 

Messi recorded 4 goals and an assist as @InterMiamiCF dominated CF Montreal, 7-1. 💪 pic.twitter.com/0cPkV40Jr6

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 30, 2026

While Hoyos might not have much longer in his latest stint coaching Messi, he heaped more unrelenting praise on him after the four-goal showing. “I don’t think he’s a normal soccer player” he said before adding, “I don’t have any qualifiers for such soccer beauty.”

Casemiro, Messi and Miami have two recognized trophies to chase for the rest of the season with the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup, but could lift the Campeones Cup in a one-game showdown with Liga MX’s Cruz Azul on Sept. 16, potentially providing a momentum-building moment despite the trophy's lack of recognition from FIFA and Concacaf. 

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