07 August 2023 , 12:20
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Lionel Messi has been drawing comparisons from two US sports greats after his latest performance for Inter Miami.
Messi has been the main attraction for soccer in the US ever since his free transfer move in July. The Argentina icon signed with Miami as a free agent after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired at the end of last season.
The 36-year-old was in action on Sunday night as Miami faced FC Dallas in the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup. Miami went into the contest on the back of a 4-0 win over Atlanta United, with Messi scoring twice in that game.
And yet again, Messi proved himself to be the star with another two goals. His first came in the opening stages of the contest as he put Miami 1-0 up.
However, things soon unraveled for Miami as they would go on to concede four goals and find themselves down 4-2. After a Marco Faran own goal reduced the deficit to one, Messi stepped up with another free-kick to level the score at 4-4 in the 85th minute.
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The strike brought back memories of his first goal for Miami, where he scored a stoppage-time free-kick to beat Cruz Azul in his debut. Miami would go on to beat Dallas 5-3 in the subsequent penalty shootout on Sunday.
Miami will prepare for the quarter-final of the Leagues Cup, which will take place on Friday. And Messi is now drawing comparisons from two US sports greats.
Before kick-off, FC Dallas owner Dan Hunt compared Messi to NBA legend Michael Jordan. “It's like watching Michael Jordan,” Hunt told Bloomberg, via the Daily Mail, prior to the game on Sunday night.
“You're looking at one of the two greatest players of all time in that experience. So yeah, this is a great moment for FC Dallas.”
Lionel Messi scored twice for Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup win over FC Dallas (Omar Vega/Getty Images)That wasn’t the end of the comparisons, with Apple TV commentator Taylor Twellman likening Messi to NFL legend Tom Brady. Twellman explained that Brady, who retired following a 23-year career in February, has similar qualities to Messi.
Twellman is quoted as having said that, thanks to Messi, Miami “have the opposition scoring worldly goals like Marco Farfan. I don't know what I saw - and they just make you crumble.
“It's eerily similar in other sports: when the great ones come in, they force you to do stuff that's out of your element. You're uncomfortable doing so.
“The New England Patriots did this every single time. People would see a ghost when [Bill] Belichick and Brady showed up. In the four games [Messi's played in], every single time someone [on the opposition] has seen a ghost because Messi is on the other side.”