Is Lionel Messi 'letting the world know how poor MLS is'? Alexi Lalas makes 'taking souls' point as ex-USMNT star weighs in on Inter Miami captain's outstanding start to 2024 season

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was at his mercurial best once again when destroying the New York Red Bulls across 45 record-setting minutes at Chase Stadium. Messi was on target himself in that contest, while also posting five assists, and has registered six goal contributions in a single game for the first time in his career.

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There have been suggestions on social media that the World Cup winner is, at 36 years of age, highlighting the deficiencies of others in the top tier of American soccer. One user has posted on X: “It is clear he is the story. On the other hand, he is letting to world know how poor quality our league is. The league should also pay high quality players for teams to compete against him.”

Lalas is eager to point out that Messi has been ripping opponents to shred at the very highest level for almost 20 years, with the former United States international saying on X: “When Messi was regularly winning games, breaking ankles, creating highlights, and taking souls in La Liga, Ligue 1, Champions League, or the World Cup nobody used his success to criticize the competitions. There are plenty of teams/players in MLS that are competing against him.”

Messi has helped Inter Miami to the top of the MLS Eastern Conference, with their biggest wobbles since his arrival in the summer of 2023 coming during injury-enforced absences. He is the biggest star in MLS and is already generating talk of running away with MVP honors in 2024.