-
AFP, FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida
-
-
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi on Wednesday bagged the 900th goal of his glittering career, but could not prevent Inter Miami from crashing out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup on away goals after a 1-1 draw with Nashville.
Messi, 38, scored his milestone goal after just seven minutes to put Miami 1-0 up in the second leg of their last-16 clash in the regional club competition.
However, Nashville’s Cristian Espinoza lashed in a 74th-minute equalizer to make it 1-1 on aggregate, and after holding Miami at bay for the remainder of the game, the visitors from Tennessee advanced to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi shoots during their CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Nashville at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday.
Photo: AFP
Miami’s exit was a bittersweet ending to what had promised to be a night of celebration after Messi’s early opener in what was the club’s final game at their Chase Stadium home in Fort Lauderdale.
Messi’s strike took the Argentine’s tally to 81 goals for the MLS champions following his move to Florida in 2023.
The eight-time Ballon D’Or winner previously scored 672 goals for Spanish giants Barcelona, 32 for France’s Paris Saint-Germain and a further 115 international goals for Argentina.
Goal No. 900 came 21 years after Messi’s first goal in senior soccer, when he scored for Barcelona in a 2-0 win over Albacete Balompie in 2005 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old.
Messi still has some way to go before he catches his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Portuguese superstar who is on 965 career goals.
Speaking ahead of Messi’s 900th goal, Miami manager and former Argentina and Barcelona team-mate Javier Mascherano described the star’s goals total as “insane.”
“I’ve been lucky enough to see most, or many, of the goals he’s scored, much closer than you all, and that’s a privilege,” Mascherano said. “The number we’re talking about [900] is insane, and that’s why Leo is a one of a kind.”
