Watch: Lionel Messi scores a 94th-minute free-kick to win it for Inter Miami on his MLS debut

The greatest ever, Lionel Messi welcomed himself to MLS in style as he scored a terrific free-kick goal on his debut for Inter Miami and also won the game for them in the 94th minute against Cruz Azul. His left foot sent the ball over a wall of four defenders and into the upper left corner of the net. It is surely the greatest moment in Inter Miami's brief history.

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The Leagues Cup is a tournament between clubs from MLS and Liga MX, the top Mexican league. Cruz Azul won the inaugural version in 2019. Messi got substituted early in the second half with Inter Miami leading 1-0. The estimated crowd of 21,000 all seemed to be standing, almost all of them with phones out to chronicle the moment. It took Inter Miami four years of planning and two years of actual pursuing to bring Messi to the club. Team officials said all tickets about 21,000, in a newly expanded stadium were sold.

Messi signed a 2 1/2-year contract with Inter Miami. It will pay him between $50 million and $60 million annually — and almost certainly more than $1 million per match. Some fans paid well over $1,000 for tickets to Friday's match, though the price on the resale market was dropping considerably in the hours before game time.

It was a gathering of GOATs at Messi's debut match. LeBron James and Serena Williams were there. They're in the conversation too of "greatest of all time" when it comes to the NBA and tennis. Music legends Gloria and Emilio Estefan showed up. Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Kim Kardashian also were present in the stadium.

Robert Taylor gave the lead first to Miami CF. He took a long cross from Robbie Robinson and then moved into the box and sent a low drive off the inside of the far post and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead late in the first half. Lionel Messi applauded several times and broke into a wide smile while appreciating the goal.

Serena Williams after the Messi Kick couldn't believe her eyes and goes "Woooooaaaaaahhhh" "WOWWW" 🐐 pic.twitter.com/YpauL1HmU9

— ESPN FC (@maxstephh) July 22, 2023

Cruz Azul got the equaliser shortly after Messi substituted. Another fairytale start to Messi's career. It was a massive night for soccer in the U.S. Messi made his first Major League Soccer appearance while, on the other side of the globe, the U.S. women's team opened its World Cup title defense in New Zealand against Vietnam. Both didn't disappoint as Messi scored a terrific goal on his debut and the USA thrashed Vietnam by 3-0.