Lionel Messi scores a sensational game-winning goal on a free kick in his Inter Miami debut

So far, it looks like money well spent

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Some people paid hundreds of dollars to be able to say they were in the stadium for Lionel Messi’s debut for Inter Miami. Some paid thousands for their seats. The team’s owners committed well over $100 million just to have a chance at moments like this.

So far, it looks like money well spent.

From the you-can’t-make-this-up department, Messi capped the opening night with his new club by delivering the unforgettable. His magical left foot sent a free kick into the upper left corner of the net in the 94th minute Friday night, giving Inter Miami a 2-1 win over Mexican club Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup match.

“What I saw was the goal,” Messi said in an on-field interview amid the postgame celebration. “I saw the goal. I knew that I had to score.” He makes it sound so easy. Made it look so easy, too.

The game’s greatest active player — a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and a World Cup champion — sent the ball over a wall of four Cruz Azul defenders for the winning goal, unquestionably the greatest moment in Inter Miami’s brief history. Fireworks shot into the night sky, and play resumed for roughly a minute before the referee’s whistle blew.

“It’s a movie that we have seen before,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said.

Messi was a showman throughout his debut for his Major League Soccer club. He waved at fans while he was seated on the bench. Waved at them while he was warming up. Waved at them while he was actually in the game.

And if that wasn’t enough, he saved his best moment for the end. He watched the ball sail into the net, something he’s done about 800 times before for club and country, then sprinted to the right corner of the field and leaped into the arms of teammates.

The team’s owners — David Beckham, Jorge Mas and Jose Mas — were waiting as he left the pitch; Jorge Mas planted a kiss onto the superstar’s sweat-coated cheek. Some Cruz Azul players stood in silence and just watched; they’ll have a story to tell, too, about how it took an incredible Messi moment to defeat them.

It took Inter Miami four years of planning and two years of actual pursuing to bring Messi to the club. “Worth it,” Beckham said earlier in the week.

How right he was. “It’s such a moment for this country,” Beckham said. “It’s such a moment for the league. And it’s a very proud moment for us.”

Nobody even left their seats when the halftime whistle blew. The reason: Messi was on the field. He warmed up for about 5 minutes during intermission with the other reserves before they all left for the locker room.