'The rest of MLS will be supporting the Seattle Sounders' - Herculez Gomez on Lionel Messi's Inter Miami losing respect as league’s new villains

Gomez highlighted the deep hostility between the two clubs, noting that both sides harbor real hatred toward each other after Seattle’s 3-0 victory over Miami in the final. The former MLS striker pointed to the post-match clash that led to several Miami players receiving suspensions.

“Seattle Sounders hate Inter Miami, Inter Miami hate the Seattle Sounders, and I would go as far as saying the rest of MLS will be supporting the Seattle Sounders,” Gomez said on Futbol Americas. “Inter Miami has become the villain of MLS in the eyes of many hardcore MLS fans.

“Hardcore MLS fans, they see a team that gets away with everything, they see players who get away with everything, they see Messi who gets everything. You have Sergio Busquets sucker-punch a 20-year-old in Obed Vargas, you have Luis Suarez spitting at an elder man in Gene Ramirez, and you have the rest of the players who didn’t get suspended or anything close to that putting players in headlocks."

While much of the criticism has centered around Suarez, Gomez pointed to some controversial behavior from Lionel Messi as well. 

“You have reports of Lionel Messi telling Pedro la Vega, ‘as long as I’m around on the Argentine national team, you will never be called in.' There are reports of Messi telling Obed Vargas, ‘you are sh*t and you will never get out of MLS.'“

Gomez suggested this history has transformed their upcoming fixture into more than just a regular-season match, with underlying tensions certain to surface when the teams meet again.

“So, Seattle Sounders are not going to take that lightly,” Gomez explained. “They’re not going to stoop to the lows that some of the teams would stoop to, or maybe the Inter Miami team has stooped to, but they’re going to try to prove a point to Inter Miami at Miami in front of Messi, in front of their fans. They weren’t happy even though they won Leagues Cup...I think we’re going to see some fireworks here.”

With only a handful of games left in the season, the Herons have had a tough run of things lately as they’ve only managed to win one of their last four games. 

Following their 3-0 loss to Charlotte FC, Inter Miami will host the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday and will then welcome DC United to the Chase Stadium on September 20.