Lionel Messi’s first season with MLS club Inter Miami has come to a quiet end.
Messi had a goal negated because he was offsides, and a free kick was deflected off the crossbar as he played the entire match in Charlotte FC’s 1-0 win at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Messi – wearing the black “La Noche” Inter Miami jersey for the first time since joining the club in late July – was competitive, engaged and running hard like the match was consequential. But it wasn’t.
Kerwin Vargas scored in the 13th minute, Charlotte saw two Inter Miami goals negated by offsides penalties and goalie Kristijan Kahlina saved two shots in the closing minutes – a header by Leo Campana he saved with his fingertips and a corner kick from Messi – to reach the MLS postseason.
Messi did not have to play. Inter Miami was eliminated from the postseason earlier this month. And the 2022 World Cup champion with Argentina and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner could have preserved his health after regaining it, following an injured September.
But Messi played on turf instead of natural grass for the first time in the MLS. And Inter Miami used its final road match of the season to gauge its lineup ahead of a lengthy offseason, where an early November trip to China for two friendlies and some more roster rebuilding could be in the cards.
Messi recovered from a right leg injury that caused him to miss matches in Atlanta, Orlando and Chicago last month. He did…
