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Watch: Messi scores 94th-minute winner in MLS debut

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 7/21/23

Inter Miami and Lionel Messi could not have drawn up a better MLS debut for the soccer great on Friday night.

Messi scored the game-winning goal on a free kick in the 94th minute to defeat Cruz Azul, 2-1, in the clubs League Cups opener, giving him his first goal in an MLS uniform.

Have a look.

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

That is perfection in so many ways. From the shot itself to the absolutely perfect storybook ending for the debut. Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham told Apple TV after the game that as soon as Messi got the free kick he knew that was how the game had to end.

"To be honest, as soon as I saw the free kick given, I thought this is the way it's meant to end," Beckham said, adding, "It's a dream come true for everybody in this stadium to see and everybody around this country to see Leo step into the MLS and perform and I don't have many words for that."

Messi signed with Inter Miami earlier this year on a deal that will pay him between $50 and $60 million per year. Prior to the MLS he was a superstar in Europe with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

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