‘Touched by God' – how the world reacted to Lionel Messi's brilliance at Club World Cup

Independent

4 hours ago

Another football tournament arrives, and yet again it's Lionel Messi grabbing headlines.
Inter Miami 's 2-1 win over Porto in the Club World Cup is the first time that an MLS team has beaten a European side in official competition, but that is a mere subplot after Messi produced yet another magic moment to remind the world that he is more than capable of deciding a game even at the age of 37.
In the 54th minute of the match, with the scores at 1-1, Miami won a free-kick around 20 yards out, right on the edge of the 'D' in a central position.
Trademark goalscoring territory for a man of Messi's talents – though it was still impressive how he curled the ball over the wall, on the keeper's side, crashing it into the side-netting.
It marks a 68th free-kick goal of Messi's career, meaning he is second only to Pele (70) and Lyon legend Juninho Pernambucano (77) in goal scored from direct free-kicks.
When the Argentinian superstar led his nation to a third World Cup in Qatar in 2022, many assumed he would not be featuring in the next edition, whether due to age or a supposed loss of form.
But with the World Cup looming large as the USA warms up by hosting the Club World Cup, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner showed that he may still be one of his nation's star players come June 2026.
And the world was quick to react to yet another moment of Messi magic, with former Portugal defender Jose Fonte saying that the Argentinian is 'touched by God'.
Speaking on Dazn, Fonte labelled Messi as 'incredible', with Shay Given adding that 'he is a genius'.
'If you get a chance to go see this guy live - you go and see him. This is what he does,' added Given. 'You call him maestro, magician, the words run out.'
'He is affecting the game, he is controlling the game. He is controlling his team-mates, he never gives the ball away,' said former Scotland midfielder Don Hutchinson.
"Lionel Messi has still got those amazing feet. At his age, 37, [he's ]still dancing through,' he added.
Inter Miami teammate Fafa Picault went even further, suggest that Messi is still 'the greatest player in the world'.
Social media clearly remains enchanted by the Argentinian too, with a simple Fabrizio Romano post on X regarding Messi's free-kick goals tally garnering almost 100,000 likes. Another post outlined that Messi now has 1250 goal contributions across his career, with 866 goals and 384 assists.
The goal marked Messi's 50th for Miami since joining in 2023, and it takes his overall tally at club level to 754.
He sits second in the all-time scorers list at the Club World Cup too, with six goals – one behind Cristiano Ronaldo – having scored his first in the old format in 2009 with Barcelona.
The victory marked the first time Inter Miami have won a match in this competition, having only been formed in 2018.
And a draw against Brazilian giants Palmeiras on Monday evening would be enough for both sides to advance to the round of 16 in the first edition of the new format.