Lionel Messi’s Top Five Moments In His First 100 Inter Miami Games

When Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, he changed the trajectory of the club and Major League Soccer forever, unlike any other player, aside from his club’s co-owner, David Beckham, in 2007.

Since then, Messi has made plenty of history. In his first 100 matches across all competitions, he notched 86 goals and 56 assists (including 10 secondary assists, as recognized in MLS), became the first player to win back-to-back Landon Donovan MLS MVP Awards and won the 2025 MLS Golden Boot. He also became the first active player in MLS to win the Ballon d’Or, winning his eighth in 2023, largely for his performance at the 2022 World Cup with Argentina.

Outside of the personal accolades he has amassed with the South Florida side, he has led the team to the 2023 Leagues Cup, 2024 Supporters’ Shield and 2025 MLS Cup titles. Yet, he has rarely thrived under the final spotlight by himself, preferring to set up his teammates to write their own historic moments.

While Miami lost the 2023 U.S. Open Cup final and the 2025 Leagues Cup final and has not advanced to the Concacaf Champions Cup final, there is little to drag on performance-wise in the Messi era.

Here, Sports Illustrated takes a look at the top five moments from his first 100 games, and shockingly, none have come in finals, as much as hoisting MLS Cup was a defining moment for the club.

5. Messi Turns Back the Clock

Ankara Messi, Ankara Messi, Ankara Messi Ankara Messi, Ankara Messi . 🐐 pic.twitter.com/DsvmC73hns
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 6, 2025

Messi has always been a star dribbler, and he shows those skills in nearly every match for Inter Miami. Yet, his goal in a 2025 4–1 win over CF Montréal stands out as his best with those skillsets, when he turned back the clock to a similar goal he scored in 2007—known as the “Ankara Messi” goal.

With his team already up 2–1, Messi picked up the ball in midfield and kept it in close control, dropping defenders with little touches and deft shoulder feints, before smashing past the goalkeeper to seal all three points.

That moment came 18 years after a 19-year-old Messi scored a very similar goal for FC Barcelona against Getafe in the 2007 Copa del Rey semifinal. That one still reigns as one of his best, with the play-by-play call to match its magic.

4. A Debut to Remember

LIONEL ANDRÉS MESSI IS NOT HUMAN. pic.twitter.com/2mBDI41mLy
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 22, 2023

After putting pen to paper with Inter Miami on July 15, Messi’s debut for the club didn’t come in MLS; instead, he came off the bench in a Leagues Cup clash against Liga MX giants Cruz Azul.

Entering the match in the 54th minute with the score tied 1–1, the Argentine made an immediate impact. He ended the night with 25 successful passes on 26 attempts, while also showcasing his silky dribbling in North American soccer for the first time.

While his sheer confidence and skill on the ball would have been enough to entice fans for what was to come in his career with Miami, he authored his first iconic moment as well, curling a perfect free-kick over the wall to win the match 2-1 in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.

3. Dominating FC Cincinnati in MLS Cup Playoffs

Lionel Messi (right) dominated against FC Cincinnati in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs. | Jeff Dean/Getty Images

As much as Inter Miami leaned on Messi to win the 2025 MLS Cup, the playoffs weren’t only filled with exceptional standout performances from the superstar, overshadowed instead by Tadeo Allende’s record-breaking pace and Rodrigo De Paul’s midfield prowess in tough games.

Messi, however, did take control of the second round matchup against FC Cincinnati, scoring a goal and pulling the strings in attack for three assists, as the Herons dismantled the Gary Lions 4–0 to move on in the postseason.

Messi would finish the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs with six goals and nine assists, including an assist in the final against Thomas Müller’s Vancovuer Whitecaps, giving him a rare win in the storied rivalry against the German. Still, it was that Cincinnati game where he made his most significant mark.

2. MLS Record Against Red Bull New York

The diminutive Argentine has spread his name across the MLS record books through his first 100 games, but the performance in a 6–2 win over Red Bull New York in Miami’s 2024 Supporters’ Shield-winning season stands out as his best.

Messi also turned back the clock in this one, making the most of his partnership with Luis Suárez and bringing back memories of the duo’s time at FC Barcelona. Red Bull opened the scoring, before Messi took over, providing a goal in the 50th minute as well as five assists to a Matías Rojas brace and a Suárez hat-trick.

The performance set a record for most goal contributions in a single MLS regular-season match and played a significant role in his campaign to secure the first back-to-back MLS MVP Awards.

1. History vs. FC Porto at the FIFA Club World Cup

No MLS team had ever beaten a European side in a competitive match—that is, until Messi stepped up to the challenge and scored a free-kick against FC Porto in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Having been awarded the host spot to the first 32-team Club World Cup, Miami faced an immense challenge. Still getting up to speed in the 2025 MLS season, the Herons were navigating through the early days of Javier Mascherano’s managerial tenure. Suddenly, they had to shift from MLS opponents to a group stage schedule against Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly, Brazilian giants Palmeiras and Portuguese titans FC Porto.

FC Porto opened the scoring early with an eighth-minute strike from Samuel Aghehowa, before Telasco Segovia levelled the match in the 47th minute. Then, it was Messi’s 54th-minute free kick from long range, which put the Herons up 2–1, securing the first-ever MLS win over a UEFA opponent.

That victory also allowed Miami to advance to the knockout stages of the competition, where its journey ended against 2025 UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.

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