SUMMARY
- Lionel Messi scored a late equalizer for Inter Miami in their game against LA Galaxy.
- Messi was seen walking out with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's son Saint West before the game,
Lionel Messi has managed to create quite the storm on the Internet after Inter Miami’s recent game against LA Galaxy. Messi ensured Inter Miami’s perfect start to the season after his late equalizer against LA Galaxy rescued Inter Miami. However, it appears as if Messi denied swapping shirts with LA Galaxy defender Eriq Zavaleta after the game.
After the match ended, Lionel Messi appeared to be visibly frustrated. While he did score his first MLS goal of the season, Inter Miami put up a rather uninspiring performance. Moreover, David Beckham‘s club was fortunate to have Drake Callender guarding the goal who saved several golden chances for LA Galaxy including a penalty.
The Inter Miami skipper also looked angry at the referees and was spotted wagging his fingers at the match official. However, a clip of Messi and Eriq Zavaleta has been making rounds on social media platforms. In the video shared by @arielipillo on X (formerly known as Twitter), Messi appeared to ignore Zavaleta. The X user also wrote that Messi denied swapping shirts with Zavaleta and said in Spanish, “No, I won’t give it to you.”
I never spoke to him lol. He’s clearly mad at the refs but agendas….
— Eriq Zavaleta (@_AIR_RIQ_) February 27, 2024
However, Zavaleta retweeted the video and added a few laughing emojis. When a fan asked him on X about why he asked to swap shirts with Messi, Zavaleta cleared the confusion. The LA Galaxy star replied, “I never spoke to him lol.” Lastly, Zavaleta further added that while Messi was indeed angry at the referees, the clips claiming that Messi had ignored his opponent was simply an agenda of the fans who are against the Argentine.
Lionel Messi fulfills Kim Kardashian’s son’s dreams
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi also fulfilled Kim Kardashian’s son’s dream during Inter Miami‘s MLS clash against LA Galaxy. Before the game, Messi was spotted walking out with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s son Saint West at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Kardashian later shared her feelings about seeing her son walking out with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner on her X account.
Saint walking Messi out on the field tonight at the La Galaxy vs Inter Miami game!!! He is living the absolute dream! pic.twitter.com/g6ZEy6ujYr
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) February 26, 2024
Kim shared a clip of her son walking alongside Messi and wrote, “Saint walking Messi out on the field tonight at the La Galaxy vs Inter Miami game!!! He is living the absolute dream!” The video has currently amassed over 13 million views. However, this hasn’t been the first occasion that the American business mogul has attended Inter Miami’s game. Kim Kardashian was also present for Messi’s Inter Miami debut back in July 2023.
Lionel Messi’s presence of mind denied LA Galaxy a goal
While Inter Miami had Drake Callender to thank for saving a penalty against LA Galaxy, a share of the credit should also go to Lionel Messi. There’s no denying that Callender put up an outstanding display against LA Galaxy and kept the home team at bay. He also managed to save LA Galaxy star Riqui Puig’s penalty in the first half.
Messi predicted where Puig would shoot his penalty and made a bet with an opponent
This guy 😭 pic.twitter.com/Uykq9Wm0ha
— LSPN FC (@LSPN_FC10) February 28, 2024
However, a clip has emerged of how Messi helped Callender guess the direction of Puig’s spot-kick. Messi, who played two years together with Puig at FC Barcelona, indicated with his hand which direction Puig was going to shoot. Callender readily followed Messi’s directions and managed to stop Puig from scoring. The 2022 World Cup winner was also spotted later laughing with an LA Galaxy player after Puig’s shot was saved.