A crowd of 60,614 turned out at Huntington Bank Field, the home of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, for the visit of Lionel Messi and friends and while the Argentine had a quiet game, Miami left with the points.
A club-record crowd of 62,358 packed into Soldier Field for the visit of Lionel Messi and his Inter team to witness a gutsy display from the home side.
Veteran Haiti international Fafa Picault headed in the winning goal in the 89th minute to give Miami a precious victory that extended their unbeaten start to the season.
Messi provided the assists for both Miami's goals including the leveler which came in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
"Messi has been the type of boost that MLS has needed. The issue for MLS has been attracting stars at the end of their career," said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor at Smith College and co-author of National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Football.
More than 11 million fans have flocked to Major League Soccer games this season, the league said Monday, breaking the previous record of 10.9 millions fans who attended games in 2024.
Miami started with all their big-name stars, including Lionel Messi, on the bench but the Argentine was introduced in the 61st minute to the delight of many in the Toronto crowd.
Expecting massive fan interest, MLS announced Thursday that the opener will be livestreamed for free on Apple TV and aired as it happens on the gargantuan 25,000-square-foot video screen at Times Square in New York.
Inter Miami's charge towards Major League Soccer's single-season points record suffered a setback on Saturday after a last-gasp injury-time equalizer from James Sands snatched a 1-1 draw for New York City FC against the Eastern Conference leaders.
The 38-year-old Portugal captain, speaking after Al Nassr's 5-0 loss to Celta Vigo in a pre-season friendly on Monday, said most European leagues were in decline. "I'm 100% sure I won't return to any European club. I'm 38-years-old," ESPN quoted him as saying
Messi, seven months removed from leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, was presented to fans during a glitzy event called 'The Unveil' at Miami's home stadium
Completion of the deal comes a day after Messi, who sparked Argentina to a World Cup title last year in Qatar, signed his own contract with the club
Inter Miami will celebrate the signing of Lionel Messi on Sunday but will do so after their winless run extended to 11 games with a 3-0 defeat at St. Louis City on Saturday, leaving them rock bottom of Major League Soccer.
Lionel Messi hasn't been formally introduced as an Inter Miami CF player yet but his fans in the United States have wasted no time introducing themselves to him.
Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami is a major coup for the club and his arrival in the United States is surely to generate a lot of excitement and attention.
Lionel Messi's next club, Inter Miami, announced Friday it will hold a presentation event, called 'The Unveil', on July 16 at its home stadium.
Martino, former coach of Messi with Barcelona and Argentina, said he had spoken to the seven-times Ballon d'Or winner and former Spain midfielder Busquets about their impending move to the Major League Soccer club
MLS is not subsidizing the contract, and Messi will not have the same option to buy an MLS team that David Beckham received when he moved to MLS in 2007, Sportico reported. That option turned into Inter Miami, of which Beckham is a co-owner
Messi, the Argentina captain, last week announced he would join the MLS side after reaching the end of his two-year deal with French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
