FOXBOROUGH — If all Lionel Messi did was take the field, many of the 43,293 fans at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night would have been able to cross an item off their bucket list.
He didn’t even have to start. As long as Messi came in at some point, forever they’d be able to say they saw one of the best athletes in the history of sports play live.
With rain threatening and Inter Miami in the midst of a brutal schedule, there were some concerns he might not play at all.
Those fears were unfounded. Messi played and lived up to the hype. For every kid who used to get up early to watch him play games in Spain or learned soccer playing the FIFA video game. Messi still plays like the guy on their screen.
Exactly a year before Gillette Stadium hosts a quarterfinal (July 9, 2026), it hosted a they guy who led Argentina to the last World Cup. Messi started and played the entire game in his second appearance at Gillette Stadium. He made both history and memories for the fans who made the trip to Foxborough for Miami’s 2-1 win over New England.
Unlike last year, it wasn’t a sellout, but it was still fuller than usual and the crowd was strawberry-swirled with pink Miami kits with Messi’s No. 10 and plenty of his Argentine and Barcelona jerseys as well.
The fans cheered when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner walked in, cheered when he was announced and roared when he scored. Even the Revs fans, who weren’t rooting for him, weren’t rooting against him either. They had an appreciation for what they were watching.
Messi’s first goal came gift-wrapped as Tanner Beason’s poorly placed header gave one of the best finishers in history the ball just inside the box with New England keeper Aljaž Ivačič caught too far out to recover.
Messi’s second came on a pretty through ball from Sergio Busquets that Messi collected in stride, moving away from Beason, and finished on the run in the 38th minute.
Neither goal was spectacular because he read the moments well enough that he put himself in position to score easily. Whatever he’s lost in speed as he’s aged, Messi has made up for with otherworldly anticipation.
Carles Gil’s goal in the 80th minute gave the Revolution life and Messi fans extra time watching him.
Up by just one, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano chose to keep Messi in the game.
“We wanted to give him some rest in this game, but after New England scored the goal, we were under pressure, so we preferred to keep him on the pitch. It was not an easy decision for us because we know that maybe in the next games, we have to find moments to give him some rest.”
The added time almost led to another goal. Mamadou Fontana robbed Messi of a third strike in extra time. Messi zipped into the box, angling toward the left corner, then directed the ball right. It was ticketed for the net before Fontana got his foot on it, denying Messi the hat trick.
But while he settled for the brace, Messi still added to his lengthy chapter of his sport’s record book. Messi is now the first player in MLS history to score twice in four straight games, giving him 83 goal contributions in just 65 appearances in the MLS.
Four straight two-goal games would be a feat for any player at any age, but to do so just two weeks after turning 38 only reinforced Caleb Porter’s strongly held belief in Messi’s place in history.
“It’s been said a million times, he’s the best ever. In my opinion, it’s not even close,” the Revs coach said. “I’ve seen it firsthand now in three games. It’s unbelievable that he continues to show up every single game.”
Porter was disappointed after losing a match, in which he thought his team had been the better side. They missed a handful of opportunities to draw even and thus missed chances to pick up valuable points.
But despite that, Porter recognized what he was seeing is special.
“I said going into the game, I thought he was playing some of his best soccer of his career,” Porter said. “It just shows how competitive he is. The guy is a beast.”
That beast might never play in New England again after Wednesday. Miami is reportedly expecting Messi to be back next year. But who knows? He could retire, get injured, or decide he wants to return to Europe.
Nothing is guaranteed the closer an athlete gets to 40. But if Wednesday was his visit, he was worth the price of admission.
“I’m sure he heard it was going to be a big crowd and he wanted to show that he’s the best in the world,” Porter said. “He put on a show.”
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