Lionel Messi breaks silence after Inter Miami suffer 3-0 loss to Seattle Sounders in Leagues Cup final 

Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi has broken his silence after his side's Leagues Cup final loss to Seattle Sounders. The Argentine wants to focus on the positives from the tournament and build on them for the remainder of the MLS season.

Seattle Sounders won the Leagues Cup final 3-0, stopping Messi from winning his 47th career trophy. Osaze De Rosario gave Seattle the lead in the 26th minute, before late goals from Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock in the 84th and 89th minutes, respectively, sealed the trophy for the Sounders.

Taking to Instagram, Messi sent a message to his fans. He posted two photos from the game and captioned them:

"We raced to the final and this time it didn't happen... We stay with the positive and keep learning to achieve the goals of this season."

Seattle Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer spoke after the win and took a cheeky dig at Lionel Messi and Inter Miami players. He claimed that his players were talented and more disciplined and said (via World Soccer Talk):

“We may not have the most famous names in world soccer, but our group is talented and disciplined. That unity was our advantage.”

When questioned about the brawl after the match, he added:

“Unfortunately, those incidents take attention away from what was truly a great performance by the Seattle Sounders. The scoreline tells the real story of this match, not what happened after.”

Diario AS have reported that Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets face a ban for their involvement in the post-match brawl. Both Inter Miami players could miss one to three matches, per the Leagues Cup disciplinary code.

Javier Mascherano on Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami losing Leagues Cup final

Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano spoke to the media after the Leagues Cup loss and claimed that the 3-0 scoreline does not reflect the performance on the pitch. He believes his players, led by Lionel Messi, took risks to get back into the game, but to no avail. He said (via World Soccer Talk):

“In matches like these, details are decisive. The first few minutes cost us the game. We tried to grow into it, but unfortunately, we conceded in the first half. In the second half, we dominated and created chances. The 3-0 scoreline is too heavy. We took risks, and their second goal effectively ended the game.”

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami players have split for the international break. They return to MLS action on Saturday, September 13, when they travel to face Charlotte FC at the Bank of America Stadium.