"I tried to tackle him and he made me cuddle my team-mate" - MLS star makes hilarious claim after facing Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in Cup fixture

Charlotte FC's Scott Arfield recently made a hilarious claim about trying to tackle Lionel Messi during his team's clash against Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup quarter-finals.

Inter Miami won the clash against Charlotte by a scoreline of 4-0 with Messi scoring his team's final goal in the game. Speaking about the clash, Arfield told The Athletic:

"I tried to tackle him and he made me cuddle my team-mate — there’s context to that. I’d been running about trying to get a touch and he had been standing still."

Detailing the experience of playing against Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Serigo Busquets, Arfield said:

“He just waits in pockets and then when he gets the ball, he can manipulate it at full speed. He can completely switch it on from 0 to 100."

He added:

"Playing against Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba was incredible. Messi was sublime, Busquets phenomenal. Our game plan was to stop Busquets getting it as he averages the most passes to Messi, but he’s that intelligent he takes you into areas and opens it up for someone else.”

Lionel Messi has been in spectacular form since joining Inter Miami as a free agent earlier this summer. He has already scored 11 goals and has provided five assists in 11 games across competitions for the MLS club. He helped the Herons win the Leagues Cup 2023 trophy as well.

---

MLS executive spoke about Lionel Messi's move to the league

MLS executive Nelson Rodriguez recently spoke about how the Argentine's move to the league has helped it grow leaps and bounds in terms of numbers. Since Messi has joined US Soccer, the league has become massively popular.

Speaking about the Argentina captain's role, Rodriguez almost ran out of words. The VP of Sports Products and Competition said in a global sports summit (via Diario Ole):

"The arrival of Messi is something else. Personally, I told my teammates that they were not going to imagine the impact that Messi was going to have . In fact, I can't imagine it either. The numbers are incredible."

Rodriguez added:

"And the impact is not "He will be able to take over in another 10, 15 or 20 years. The talent he has is impressive; for me, he is unique. And I am proud that he has chosen Inter Miami and the MLS to continue his career."

Lionel Messi is currently on duty with Argentina as they will take on Ecuador and Bolivia this month in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.