Lionel Messi has a ‘nasty side’ & enjoys ‘verbals’ with MLS rivals - with opponent in America explaining why Argentine GOAT is ‘best player ever’

Messi has added to his individual and collective medal collection in 2025. He landed Golden Boot and MVP honours with Inter Miami, while helping them to a historic MLS Cup crown. A new three-year contract through 2028 has been signed in South Florida.

Messi dazzled across the last season in America, with the evergreen 38-year-old showing no sign of slowing down. He has been doing that for some time, with one particularly eye-catching outing in 2024 seeing him register a goal and five assists in a 6-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls, with Inter Miami having trailed said contest 1-0 at half-time.

Scotland international Lewis Morgan, who was tied to the Red Bulls at the time, was among those to witness a Messi masterclass at close quarters. He has told the Daily Record of what makes the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner special: “Messi’s the best player ever. And he showed it that day.

“I describe it as he was playing angrily in the second half. And when he’s angry you don’t want to be on the other side. We were 1-0 up at half time then he just flicked a switch. Before we knew it, it was 6-1 to Miami.

“Messi scored and got five assists! You could just tell that he's got that nasty side, that mentality to switch whenever he needs to. He's not afraid to put a foot in or get involved in 50-50s or play the mind games, just to give a bit of verbals back to the opposition and get in some guys' heads.

“He was extra motivated that day to really drag his team to victory. He had a 25-minute spell where we were at a loss how to contain him. But that's what it's all about, playing and testing yourself against the highest level player.”

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Morgan has been on the move since then, with a trade being agreed that has taken him 2,500 miles across the States from New York to San Diego. The 29-year-old, who started out in America with Inter Miami in 2020, is looking forward to putting recent injury struggles behind him and opening a new chapter ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

He added on trying to force his way into Steve Clarke’s plans for that event, with his last cap being earned 14 months ago: “The manager has kept in touch here and there. I messaged congratulations to everyone for qualification.

“The Denmark game was incredible. I watched it with Cary in my apartment, she’s from over here but she’s converted to the Tartan Army now. I was heading every ball, kicking every ball. It was an incredible game.

It’s amazing for the guys because I know how hard they and the manager and the coaching staff work. The manager has got to three out of four major tournaments and every single one has been hard earned. It was amazing to watch it as a fan. But now I need to try and get in there and be a part of it.

“This is where I live, this is where I play, so I'm used to playing in all these places like Boston and Miami. Miami is a bit more of a challenging climate and I've played there for a couple of years. All that, I guess, is a bonus maybe for myself if I do get in the squad. There's no doubt in my mind that if I'm playing then I can bring something to the squad.”

Scotland will face plenty of tough tests at the 2026 World Cup. They were able to avoid Messi and Argentina in the group stage draw, but will be coming up against Brazil - with Haiti and Morocco also being placed in Group C.