"FORT LAUDERDALE - It was nearly two hours after the final whistle sounded on Inter Miami's first MLS Cup, but Lionel Messi still hadn't taken off his pink cleats as he stood next to the open door of his black Cadillac Escalade giving an interview. Messi, the legendary Argentine, wore a gray Inter Miami MLS Cup champions shirt darkened by whatever booze was sprayed in the home team's locker room."
"The first goal opened with him slipping between two defenders with a couple of deft touches, then lifting a little pass to Tadeo Allende to put him into space en route to the goal. Messi then engineered the next two goals, including a brilliant assist where he took the ball off his chest and put the pass through to Allende again out of the air on the next touch."
Lionel Messi helped Inter Miami capture its first MLS Cup with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps, creating all three goals. Messi remained near his Cadillac Escalade nearly two hours after the final whistle, wearing pink cleats and a champions shirt darkened by celebratory sprays before removing his shoes. The match closed the team's sixth season and the final year at temporary Chase Stadium. Messi's 2023 arrival accelerated the club's rise into a global brand. Messi supplied two assists to Tadeo Allende, including a chest-control through pass, and celebrated the championship as a realization of his MLS decision.
Read at Sun Sentinel
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