Lionel Messi is 36 years old and by now, you'd think, he has done everything there is to do on a soccer pitch. Hundreds of stupefying goals. Impossibly mazy runs. Alien assists. But Messi, an unrivaled sporting magician, has never stopped inventing magic tricks. And on Wednesday night, in his 2024 MLS opener, he pulled out another stunner.
It wasn't a goal. It wasn't even an assist — though he had one of those in a 2-0 Inter Miami win. It was disrespect of the highest order. In the 44th minute of the season's first game, Messi cut inside on his left foot .