Soccer <\/p>\n
It required a rare confluence of events. Yet in the end, it felt right that Lionel Messi<\/a> was at Jordi Alba<\/a>\u2019s side in an Inter Miami CF<\/a> kit on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Four days after Alba surprised the world<\/a> by announcing that this season would be the last of his glittering 16-year career, the iconic Spanish left back was honored by IMCF following their rescheduled match vs. Atlanta United<\/a> at Chase Stadium.<\/p>\n And he made sure it was a suitably celebratory occasion by scoring the second goal in a 4-0 rout<\/a> that assures the Herons of at least a third-place finish in the ferocious MLS Eastern Conference, while taking a small bit of revenge on the side that upset them in last year\u2019s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Fittingly, it was Messi, the beneficiary of so many incisive assists from Alba across their 400-plus matches together with FC Barcelona and Miami, who played provider. The GOAT pinged a searching long ball into the path of Alba\u2019s run behind the Atlanta defense, the delivery sitting up invitingly for Alba to chip a classy, delicate finish over Five Stripes goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert<\/a> for the victory-clinching strike.<\/p>\n Alba returned the favor in the dying minutes with a precise pass over the top that Messi collected before calmly firing his MLS-leading 26th goal of the year past Hibbert.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n \u201cThanks to you, Jordi. I\u2019m going to miss you so much,\u201d Messi had commented on Alba\u2019s Instagram post<\/a> revealing his retirement. \u201cAfter so much together, it\u2019s going to feel strange to look to my left and not see you there \u2026 Who\u2019s going to give me return passes now???\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, it was the 50th goal Alba and Messi have collaborated on all-time, according to Transfermarkt data (their record together<\/a> is 278W-62L-74D, averaging an eye-popping 2.19 points per game). And they plan on racking up a few more over the next two months as they aim for an MLS Cup triumph that would allow Alba and their fellow Bar\u00e7a alum Sergio Busquets<\/a>, who will also retire at year\u2019s end<\/a>, to ride into the sunset as champions.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to all the Inter Miami fans for their support from the first day I arrived, and especially my teammates, all the club’s employees, and those behind the pitch who are just as important as the players,\u201d Alba told the home crowd in Spanish in an emotional postgame ceremony, his son Paolo, the youngest of his three children, at his hip.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is coming to an end \u2026 but we’ll try to win to leave the club at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n With only pride to play for at the tail end of their bitterly disappointing season, Atlanta\u2019s resistance was broken when Miami exploited an untimely Tristan Muyumba<\/a> turnover shortly before halftime, Messi curling a trademark left-footed finish into the top corner to surge ahead of LAFC<\/a>\u2019s Denis Bouanga<\/a> in the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race.<\/p>\n Doubling his night\u2019s tally takes the Argentine legend to 26 goals on the year, and his assist to Alba takes him to a remarkable 44 goal contributions this season with one match left to play. He\u2019s now in pole position for the Golden Boot, depending on what transpires on Decision Day, when LAFC visit Colorado<\/a> and Miami travel to Nashville<\/a>, whose spearhead Sam Surridge<\/a> sits third on the scoring chart with 23 goals.<\/p>\n And Messi wasn\u2019t even supposed to be wearing pink at all this evening, the Herons\u2019 final regular-season home game.<\/p>\n He\u2019d spent all week with the Argentine national team camp as they trained in South Florida ahead of a friendly vs. Venezuela at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday. However, he wasn\u2019t called upon in that game, and with Tuesday\u2019s match against Puerto Rico relocated from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale just a few days ago, the Albiceleste didn\u2019t travel between matches, opening the door for IMCF to request his services.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday, before the match, I talked to [Argentina manager Lionel] Scaloni, and he said no, that he was not going to use him, that he was going to sit him down. And I spoke to Leo to see if he could play,\u201d explained Mascherano. \u201cIt was his decision, and clearly he saw the opportunity that if he wasn’t going to play against Venezuela yesterday, we could use him. Leo, of course, was ready to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a very special player, he’s an icon, and even though he didn’t train last week with us, we saw what he did today. He has helped us to win; he managed to score. That for him was important.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Messi scores and his @Argentina<\/a> teammates were loving it \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf7 pic.twitter.com\/EGgHC3BieC<\/a><\/p>\nIconic duo<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Messi’s dominance<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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