Lionel Messi stung with Harlem Globetrotters criticism after producing ‘prime Barcelona’ form ‘three days too late’ for Inter Miami

The mercurial Argentine was back to his best for the Herons as they claimed a dramatic 3-2 victory over Sporting KC in front of more than 72,000 spectators at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. That performance earned him Matchday MVP recognition, but came on the back of a disappointing display in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

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Inter Miami tumbled out of that competition at the hands of Mexican outfit Monterrey, with Messi unable to inspire them in a 5-2 aggregate defeat. Former MLS and USMNT star Herculez Gomez was impressed with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as he put on a clinic in Kansas, but has suggested that he fluffed his lines in a game with more riding on it.

Gomez has told ESPN’s Futbol Americas of seeing Messi star at the home of Super Bowl-winning NFL franchise the Kansas City Chiefs: “It’s three days too late. We see Messi and friends play in MLS and they look like the Harlem Globetrotters. Guess what the opposition looks like then? The Washington Generals. You go from playing against Rayados [Monterrey] who in CONCACAF is star-studded in their house where the fans were hostile, and I thought we were going to see the angry Messi and for him to show up, but he sure did in this game [vs Sporting KC]. We got prime Barcelona Messi, but my initial reaction? Three days too late.”

Victory in Kansas has taken Inter Miami back to the top of the MLS Eastern Conference and they will return to domestic action on Saturday when playing host to Nashville – with Messi seemingly fully recovered from the hamstring injury that was holding him back early on in the 2024 campaign.