Lionel Messi Has a Rare Poor Moment for Inter Miami vs. CF Montreal in MLS Return | OneFootball

Through the best moments of Lionel Messi’s star-studded career, he has looked anything but human on the soccer pitch. Well, that wasn’t the case early in Saturday’s regular-season MLS matchup with CF Montréal.

In Inter Miami CF’s first game back in league play after falling to Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner had a moment he would want to forget.

Just moments after kicking off, the 38-year-old looked to pass back to his center back, Tomás Aviles, but a poor touch and miscommunication with right back Marcelo Weigandt saw him pass the ball right into the path of CF Montréal attacker Prince Owusu, who had no issues finishing past goalkeeper Oscar Ustari.

The moment was one of the first mistakes Messi has made since he joined the South Florida club and MLS, and put the 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners behind the 14th-placed team in the Eastern Conference.

However, the season has been a good one for Messi, scoring 10 goals and eight assists in MLS play and making a strong case to be considered the league’s MVP for the second year in a row. He also scored a now-famous free kick against FC Porto in the Club World Cup, helping Miami become the first MLS team to beat a European opponent in an official competition.

In Messi’s time with Miami, he has scored 50 goals and 24 assists in 63 games across all competitions, with 31 of those goals coming in just 39 games of MLS regular season action.

After Saturday’s clash with CF Montreal, Miami look to their next match against the New England Revolution on July 9, before returning home against Nashville SC on July 12.

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