Summary of the rematch of the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup of North-Central America: Monterrey - Inter Miami 1:3/Sport1
Leo Messi and a bunch of glittering ex-Barcelona players will not give Inter Miami an international title this year. The team of the Argentine phenomenon, and of Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, was eliminated this morning (Thursday) from the Champions Cup of North and Central America at the end of 3:1 in Monterrey against the local Rajados, who enjoyed a boost from 53,000 fans in their full home stadium on the way to the semi-finals . For Messi, it was certainly not an easy night - and not only because of the result.
Remembering last week's heated confrontation between the star and the Monterey training staff at the end of the first match between the teams, in which Messi did not participate due to injury, Rajados stung him after winning and tweeted on her official X account the famous celebration sound of Cristiano Ronaldo: "SIUUU". The post was deleted in a short time, and there was also teasing about it on the network from tweeters who claimed that FIFA was "pampering" Messi.
Monterey drew the inspiration for the tweet from her audience. One would think that Messi has already been everywhere possible during his long and extensive career, but in fact tonight he played his first official game on Mexican soil. And in that country they still remember very well how the Argentine beat them in the last World Cup, when he scored an unforgettable goal and scored another goal in a 0:2 victory over the "Tari".
And not only Messi is the story here, because Tata Martino, now coach of Inter Miami, guided Mexico and signed that early elimination from the World Cup in Qatar, after seven consecutive World Cups in which this team reached the round of 16.
Therefore, Martino suffered harsh boos when the visiting team's names were called before the game, when Messi "received" much more intense treatment: besides booing at every touch, the local crowd shouted at him the obscene chant "Messi eats ***", and repeatedly called his name of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Martino was also criticized in the United States after the relegation, in light of his decision not to make any substitutions during the game, despite Inter Miami's clear inferiority on the field. Journalist Kyle Boone mentioned that the team's bench from Florida is a "disaster", as the club had to sell quite a few reasonable players to meet the regulations.
In the same matter, one of the criticisms that went viral was specifically directed at David Beckham, the owner of Inter Miami, from the direction of an Arab broadcaster who delivered a short monologue at the stage when the game was already over, defending Messi: "You brought Messi, but you didn't bring him a team. He is alone in the team. Messi alone cannot do everything for you."
The expulsion from the Champions Cup means that Inter Miami and Messi also lost a chance to participate in the Club World Cup in 2025, which will be held in the United States in an expanded version with teams from all over the world, including the holders of the Champions League from recent years.