Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham has penned a heartfelt message for Lionel Messi after the Argentine GOAT led Inter Miami to MLS Cup first round win with a golden boot.
Taking to Instagarm, the Inter Miami co-owner wrote, “A special night in so many ways. To start the play offs with a win in front of our fans, celebrate Leo’s golden boot and have my family over here to experience it has been amazing Onto next week…”
Messi opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the Major League Soccer playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night.
Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, which now gets two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi's 2 1/2-year tenure with the team. Game 2 is at Nashville on Nov. 1. Game 3, if necessary, would in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 8.
Hany Mukhtar got Nashville's goal off a free kick in the 101st minute. It was the final play of the match.
The win capped a big couple of days for Inter Miami, which announced Messi's three-year contract extension on Thursday.
The new contract means Messi could remain with Inter Miami into his early 40s. He is still the biggest name in soccer; ticket revenue for MLS set a record this year, Inter Miami’s value has doubled by some estimates to about $1.2 billion since he arrived and he has led the league in jersey sales annually since his arrival midway through 2023.
