Lionel Messi issued the perfect put-down to Nashville fans chanting Cristiano Ronaldo‘s name – by scoring 14 seconds after they chirped up.
The Inter Miami forward struck from the edge of the penalty area to put Inter Miami 2-0 up and pulverise any ‘Ronaldo, Ronaldo’ chants as Nashville’s rabble fell silent.
Messi had already assisted Luis Suarez and Robert Taylor would go on to add another as Inter Miami advanced to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
That 3-1 win (5-3 on aggregate) sees Messi’s chances of lifting North America’s version of the Champions League grow and they will face Mexicans Monterrey in the last eight.
The Argentine has made a seamless transition to football in the United States, scoring 16 goals in 19 games and establishing a fine partnership with Suarez.
Lionel Messi silenced chants of ‘Ronaldo, Ronaldo’ when he scored just 14 seconds after they started
Inter Miami are top of the Eastern Conference with seven points after four games.
Messi’s impact has been immeasurable for the team co-owned by David Beckham
His debut in July was the most-watched match in MLS history and the club have a burgeoning global profile.
He is regularly subjected to ‘Ronaldo’ chants but brushes those off like a duck sailing through water.
In the MLS this season, he is the joint-top scorer in the league with three goals – although he will be hoping to get clear of Christian Benteke, who is one of the players with the same total.
It all marks a contrast to what was a dire pre-season for the Herons.
Coming into the season, they had won just once in 15 games.
The Herons endured a nightmare pre-season and Messi had to sit some of it out with injury issues.
Fans in America regularly taunt Messi with Cristiano Ronaldo chants but they don’t work
Messi has scored 16 goals in 19 games since joining the club owned by David Beckham
Two Argentina friendlies were even cancelled in China after Messi sat out a match against a Hong Kong league XI.
Inter Miami kick-started their pre-season programme with a disappointing 0-0 draw with El Salvador.
Both Messi and Luis Suarez drew a blank on their Inter Miami reunion, with the attacking stars playing 45 minutes in the team’s draw.
Following that game, Messi and his Inter Miami team-mates featured in front of a near-empty Cotton Bowl stadium for a drab friendly against FC Dallas.
Incredible images from the game in a rainy Texas show the World Cup winner lining up alongside two fellow legends in Suarez and Sergio Busquets – – but the rare appearance of soccer royalty failed to create the sort of buzz MLS had hoped for.
There were just 32,211 fans in attendance – a third of the capacity of the huge venue – with large swathes of empty seats seen throughout the stadium. Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira scored the only goal of the game inside three minutes.
Inter Miami then continued to clock up the miles during their off-season, flying to Saudi Arabia to face two more money-spinning games.
Their first match was a narrow 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal, where Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Al-Hilal an early lead.
It follows a nightmare pre-season for Inter Miami. Messi was a late substitute as his side were thrashed 6-0 by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr
Fans were left furious after Lionel Messi remained on the bench during a game in Hong Kong
Shortly afterwards, midfielder Ruben Neves turned away from Messi, leaving the Argentine icon in a heap on the floor.
Inter Miami then moved on to a blockbuster showdown against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, in a clash that had been billed as the ‘Last Dance’ between two great rivals.
However, the Portuguese striker was forced to pull out of the occasion with a muscle injury, while Messi took to the pitch for only seven minutes, with his side already 6-0 down by the time he was introduced.
After that, the MLS side headed out to Hong Kong, where things only went from bad to worse for Messi and his team-mates, as angry fans demanded a refund after paying up to £365 to watch the Argentine.
Their anger stemmed from the fact Messi, who featured prominently in the advertising ahead of the event, remained on the bench throughout Inter Miami’s 4-1 win over a Hong Kong league XI.
Local fans couldn’t hide their frustration after paying as much as £365 to watch Messi play
Some of the advertising boards at Hong Kong Stadium featuring Messi were damaged
Some 40,000 fans were furious and it even ended in a political dispute, with Hong Kong’s government demanding an explanation from organisers, while they threatened to withdraw $2m (£1.6m) of funding to the organisers that helped bring Inter Miami to the city. ‘The organiser owes all football fans an explanation,’ they said in a statement.
