Lionel Messi Reacts to Vancouver Whitecaps Players and Fans in Testy Concacaf Champions Cup Loss | OneFootball

Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi fired back at Vancouver Whitecaps FC fans and players during the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Final on Thursday night.

While Miami were unable to create many scoring chances in their eventual 2–0 loss to Whitecaps FC, Messi appeared to be the most shaken, getting into a shoving match with Vancouver’s Andres Cubas, and snapping at fans after the game.

After skipping Miami’s 2024 MLS regular season matchup in Vancouver, Whitecaps supporters consistently booed the Argentine superstar whenever he touched the ball, showcasing their desire for the home side, rather than the adulation Messi usually gets at many large crowds around the world.

At the same time, he struggled to get past Cubas, who had also defended him in Paraguay’s 2–1 win over Argentina in World Cup qualifying in November.

Given the booing, the battle with Cubas and the overall troubling match, Messi made his frustrations known to Whitecaps supporters after the game, holding up a single finger to signify the first leg, while seemingly saying something along the lines of, “just you wait.”

Vancouver fans came out in full force with their hostility towards the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and Miami, with banners poking fun at him, as well as the boos and chants, and one fan waving a Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal kit as he stepped off the field.

Many of the 53,367 Whitecaps supporters also joined in on personal chants against Luis Suárez, taken from English Premier League fans in the eighth minute, singing “Luis Suárez, your teeth are offside.”

Messi and Miami will look to turn the matchup in the second leg on Wednesday, as they did when they lost the first leg of their quarterfinal against LAFC. However, with the away goals rule in play, a single tally from Vancouver would mean Miami would need four goals to win and advance to a final against Liga MX giants Cruz Azul or Tigres.

"We have nothing to lose. We have to try to win the game. We know we have to score at least two goals and not concede," head coach Javier Mascherano said about the second leg. "Now maybe the pressure is for Vancouver. They have to keep the result. We will try to do it."