Luis Enrique was asked what it would take to stop Lionel Messi before facing Inter Miami, and the answer, as it turned out, was not much.
The Argentine footballing legend looked all of his 38 years in his reunion with Paris Saint-Germain, who eased to a 4-0 win over their US opponents in the last-16 at the Club World Cup.
AFPMessi endured a rough, record-breaking clash at the Club World Cup[/caption]Joao Neves gave the Champions League winners a sixth minute lead and then added another before an own goal from Tomas Aviles and a strike from Achraf Hakimi put the knockout match to bed at half-time.
The first half onslaught from PSG created unwanted history for Miami, as they have become the first MLS side to ever concede four goals in a Club World Cup fixture.
It was also the first time Messi has ever lost a match in the competition, having made eight previous appearances since 2009 without defeat – winning six and drawing twice.
In each of the three Club World Cups he played in for Barcelona in 2009, 2011 and 2015, he lifted the trophy on each occasion.
A 4-0 Miami loss was also the joint heaviest a CONCACAF team has ever experienced in the competition – matching Cruz Azul’s and Club America’s 4-0 defeats to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Messi plays alongside a number of his former Barcelona teammates – Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
But the quartet all showed their age, particularly Busquets who committed an error for Neves’ second.
PSG boss Enrique coached all four players at Barca, but naturally had the highest praise for Messi pre-match.
“I had the opportunity to coach him when he was at his best,” he said. “He’s the best player in history for me.
“He continues to be competitive at the highest level, playing every day. He has impressive movement and situation management.”
AFPPSG showed why many consider them to be favourites to win the Club World Cup[/caption] AFPMessi was unable to inspire Miami to a shock victory over the Champions League holders[/caption]He also reserved praise for Miami’s manager, Javier Mascherano, who was also part of that Barcelona squad.
“I know him perfectly and I knew he would become a coach,” the Spaniard said. “He has time to become a great coach.
“In my squad if there were two players that I saw becoming a coach, it was him and Busquets. They were the extension of the coach on the pitch.”
Miami were a late addition to the tournament and arrived in bizarre scenes in October 2024 when FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced their qualification after a Supporters’ Shield win.
Yet despite getting who many consider the greatest of all time to attend, the Club World Cup has struggled to impress, with low viewing figures and often empty stadiums.
A 2-0 Chelsea group win over Los Angeles FC saw just 22,000 spectators in a 71,000 capacity Mercedes Benz Arena and Blues manager Enzo Maresca passed comment after the match.
Messi struggled to assert himself against his former employers“I think the environment was a bit strange. You know, the stadium was almost empty. Not full,” he said.
“We prepared for this game also thinking that the environment was a bit different.”
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