Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami might have lost the Leagues Cup final to Seattle Sounders, but his display of class and respect has won over the hearts of netizens over the world. Messi’s name, as always, needs no introduction. However, for the uninformed, Inter Miami faced Seattle Sounders in the Leagues Cup final, a match that drew record-breaking attendance of over 69,000 people but was marred by controversy due to a post-match melee that erupted between the two teams. Luis Suarez was found at the centre stage of the post-match skirmish, which started with him putting Seattle midfielder Obed Vargas in a headlock.
Losing a final never feels good, and Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer to have ever lived, knows that feeling a little too uncomfortably well. Whether losing the 2014 World Cup final, in a heartbreaking loss to Germany in extra time from a surprise Mario Goetze goal, or losing the 2016 Copa America to Chile on penalties, Messi has had more than his fair share of final heartbreaks. However, he has rarely, if ever, lost the final of a club competition, and Inter Miami’s defeat to Seattle comes as the first-ever final loss for them since Messi joined. The Seattle Sounders won the third edition of the Leagues Cup on Sunday after beating Inter Miami 3-0 with goals from Osaze De Rosario, Álex Roldán, and Paul Rothrock.
However, the hysterical situation at the end of the match, with both teams going hammer and tongs against each other, made the post-game environment toxic, with some reports mentioning Suarez spat on one of the Sounders’ elderly staff members.
The Inter Miami head coach, ex-Argentina and Barcelona icon Javier Mascherano, declined to comment on what happened after the game, “Nobody likes these kinds of actions at the end of a match, but if there’s a reaction, maybe there was provocation.”
The Seattle Sounders manager, Brian Schmetzer, downplayed the incidents, choosing to emphasise his team’s collective effort to dominate Messi’s star-studded Inter Miami team.
“I guess we can take that as a compliment that Miami’s frustrations led to some things happening on the field that shouldn’t happen on the field.“
“I’m going to shut that down because that shouldn’t be the story,” Schmetzer said, later alluding to having had a “quiet moment” with Messi after the game.
The Inter Miami side, visibly discontent at the end of the match, didn’t stay back to congratulate the Seattle Sounders when the Sounders received their trophy, choosing to leave as a sign of protest against them. Lionel Messi cut a rather lonesome figure at the end, being the only Inter Miami player to stay back and watch as the Seattle team lifted their trophy. Messi, despite his team’s controversial stance, opted to stand and pay respect to the winning team, and his display of class has was quite evident –
Messi’s competitive spirit and show of sportsmanship were also reflected in the Instagram post he made after the game.
Written in Messi’s native Spanish, the Instagram caption roughly translates to Messi looking forward to the next season and taking his defeat in his stride.
Messi, who has won almost every trophy under the sun, still has fire in his belly to compete and win, a trait he shares similarly with rival and fellow GOAT Cristiano Ronaldo.
With his act of class and maturity against the odds, Messi’s stature keeps growing, a reminder to every new kid watching that legends are made not only with what you do on the field, but how you behave off it.
