Why PSG wasn’t alone in facing Messi’s challenge

The Inter Miami star wasn’t the only player, current or former, with ties to the French team despite all the hoopla and excitement surrounding Lionel Messi’s return to Atlanta on Sunday for the FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 matchup against his old team, the defending UEFA Champions League champion Paris Saint-Germain.

Luis Enrique, the manager of PSG, had the pleasure of facing four players he had previously overseen at Barcelona, a major force in Spain. Messi, of course, but there are also players like Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets who could steal the show in a world without the Argentine sensation. Javier Mascherano, Enrique’s teammate on the Miami sidelines, was also instrumental in Enrique’s treble-winning tenure at Barça during the 2014–15 campaign.

A few years later, in 2017, Miami’s squad of former Barcelona players contributed to the incredible comeback against PSG. Les Parisiens somehow managed to blow a 4-0 first-leg advantage in a Champions League round of 16 encounter, losing 6-1 in the rematch.

“Round of 16?” On Sunday, there was a narrative everywhere you looked. And a penny, or maybe a cent, for the memories of Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, who was present despite having just undergone surgery, in the chilly Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Not long after collecting a fourth league winners’ medal—after England, Spain, and the United States—the legendary English soccer player famously shed a few tears when he called it quits on his playing career in the red and blue of PSG in May 2013.

And as demonstrated by the 50-year-old supporting them inside the Allianz Arena last month as PSG defeated Inter Milan 5-0 to win their first Champions League, this was no fad but rather a meaningful bond. Beckham, who will shortly be knighted, had an unforgettable evening in Munich.

About his MLS team playing the last team he ever represented, Beckham told the TNT Sports/DAZN pregame program in Atlanta, “To be honest, it’s quite an emotional match for me.” Even though I was only there for six months, it seemed like sixteen years. We’re pleased with this moment because it’s a true family and a real, exceptional club, headed by a great man and owned by amazing individuals.

As the knockout stages of the recently enlarged Club World Cup progressed on this last Sunday in June, was it possible to argue that everyone would win?

PSG was the overwhelming favorite to progress, but Inter Miami, the only MLS team out of the three to make it past the group stage, had displayed some flair along the way thanks to its top players. A resounding victory for the European powerhouses, as Inter Miami departs with their heads held high? Everyone shakes hands. Shall we exchange jerseys and repeat the process in four years?

Who could contest that story? Before the Club World Cup started in mid-June, Opta’s supercomputer ranked PSG as the most likely team to win the competition. It held going into the Round of 16, giving PSG a 20.6% chance of winning the trophy after 10,000 simulations, while Inter Miami struggled with incredibly low odds of 0.3%.

Even Messi and Beckham, who are experienced at leading their teams through impossible circumstances, couldn’t have exclaimed, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!” with a straight face.

However, soccer has the power to continuously make us appear “Dumb and Dumber.” After leaving Barcelona for Paris in 2021, Messi did not appear to have much fun or win any awards during his two seasons in the French city, so maybe the revenge angle had to be taken into account. And until Sunday, the 38-year-old had never played a former team in a competitive match in his over 1,100-game career.

The irony of PSG’s big-name players like Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Neymar not winning the Champions League while the young Désiré Doué, João Neves, and Bradley Barcola obtaining “Ol’ Big Ears” shortly after being permitted to legally consume alcohol from the renowned trophy has been discussed so much that it hardly needs to be reiterated.

The European champion put on a clinic, racing out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a brace from João Neves, an own goal from Tomás Avilés (the unfortunate substitute had already been booked mere seconds after entering the game in the 19th minute), and the game-winning goal from attacking full-back Achraf Hakimi. Ultimately, those jersey swaps could have happened at the half.

With a few minutes remaining in the first half, the game was nominally tied at 2-0, but it drastically doubled before the 65,574 spectators could catch their breath.

It felt like an exhibition for the next forty-five minutes. PSG depressed the accelerator, practically teasing its rival to try. Additionally, there were moments when it seemed like the whole stadium was rooting for the striker to score, and it did appear like the Inter Miami audience was more partisan (or perhaps that should be pro-Messi). And he gladly accepted the task.

There were several efforts saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, including one from a header that, had it landed in the net, may have sparked the biggest cheer in the history of this stadium, a blocked shot here, and a free kick that fairly mildly struck the PSG wall. But when a team in sixth place in the MLS Eastern Conference plays the top team in Europe, Messi’s eight Ballons d’Or are meaningless.

In what may have been the tournament’s greatest understatement, Inter Miami coach Mascherano said, “There’s a huge lesson to be learned from here.” For his part, PSG coach Enrique said, “It was an almost perfect match; we created a lot of chances,” which may have been the second-biggest of the competition.

After the game, PSG player Ousmane Dembélé told reporters, including CNN Sports, that he was “very happy” to face Messi and that it was a “pleasure” to see him.

Although it’s evident that the players still hold him in high regard, it’s important to consider whether this was Messi’s last game ever played on a worldwide scale. He will be putting up his boots shortly, but the World Cup is only around the way.

When the Champions League champion faces German powerhouse Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals on Saturday, PSG, whose players are putting up medals rather than boots, will be returning to this magnificent stadium. Although it’s a true blockbuster, players like Beckham and Messi will be supporting characters rather than the main characters.

“It’s okay. Before kickoff, a grinning Beckham stated, “It’s all good,” referring to his operation. On the other hand, he might have been talking about how this match turned out.

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