“He’s relentless in his pursuit of winning games” - Lionel Messi hailed by MLS great after heroics in 5-0 Inter Miami win over Orlando City
MLS great Sacha Kljestan heaped praise on Lionel Messi while reviewing the matches from the league's last game week. He noted the Argentine's knack for scoring breathtaking goals and stressed that the forward was always looking to win games.
In his MLS Soccer Cloumn, Kljestan could not stop himself from praising the Inter Miami star for his two goals against Orlando City in the 5-0 win. He stated that the former Barcelona star was relentless in the game and wrote:
"Messi got two goals and an assist to bring him to 3g/3a through three games. And how he scored was just breathtaking. The first one came with his chest while three Orlando City defenders scrambled on the goal line, then the second was a sublime header at the back post. Yes, we are used to seeing Messi score beautiful goals. But he's relentless in his pursuit of winning games and he has started the season on fire."
Inter Miami are the only side to play three matches in MLS so far. They remain unbeaten and are on top of the table, with seven points from those matches.
Erling Haaland believes Lionel Messi should retire for others to win Ballon d'Or
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland was backed to win the Ballon d'Or in 2023 but he was beaten to it by Lionel Messi. Haaland was recently quizzed if he believed that Argentine needed to retire for others to win the prestigious award. He said (via The Guardian):
"Good question! I don't know. I've won it all but I'm only 23, so I want to win it all again. Messi is the best that has ever played, maybe he has to retire for someone else to be regarded as the best."
When asked if he had any plans to leave the Etihad amid reports of interest from Lionel Messi's former club Barcelona, and their rivals Real Madrid, the Norwegian star replied:
"I'm really happy, especially with the people that I'm surrounded with; the manager, the directors, the board, they are a group of amazing people and I'm really happy, I have to say. If I say this now it's probably gonna be a massive headline: tomorrow you never know what the future brings, but I'm happy. You can write this but you also have to write everything I said before. I'm happy."
Lionel Messi also beat Erling Haaland to win the FIFA The Best Award earlier this year in London.