NFLNBAMLBNHLNCAAFNCAAMNCAAWTennisPremier LeagueFIFA Club World CupGolfWNBAPeakGlobal SportsMLSNWSLFantasy BaseballFantasy FootballSoccerFormula 1OlympicsSports BusinessOpinionBettingMemorabilia and CollectiblesCollege SportsCultureMotorsportsNASCARWomen's HockeyMMABoxingThe Pulse NewsletterCitiesWimbledon Day 1NBA OffseasonClub World CupToday's NewsConnections: Sports EditionLionel Messi’s Inter Miami humbled in crushing Club World Cup exit – Paris Saint-Germain 4 Inter Miami 0By , and moreJune 29, 2025Updated 6:03 pm EDTLionel Messi’s Club World Cup ended with a crushing PSG victory against Inter Miami in Atlanta, where the MLS side were completely outclassed by the European champions.The unmarked Joao Neves headed PSG in front from a free kick after six minutes, and while Miami resisted for around 30 minutes, Joao Neves (39 minutes) and Achraf Hakimi (45+3mins) scored before the break, either side of substitute Tomas Aviles deflecting the ball into his own net (44mins).AdvertisementMessi has been . Miami had their first shot of the game on 50 minutes, their first shot on target about 10 minutes later, their best chance when Messi’s header was saved, and a good chance that a toiling Luis Suarez squandered, but in truth, the game was long over by then.In the first half, Miami completed 25 passes in the opposition half, while PSG managed 257 in a show of total dominance, and while Messi led a series of attacks in the second half, there was only pride left to play for.PSG will now play the winners of Flamengo vs Bayern Munich, who play this evening in Miami.Here, The Athletic’s Felipe Cardenas, Mark Carey and Anantaajith Raghuraman break down the key talking points.How did Messi take the defeat?I’m going to guess Messi didn’t sleep well last night. In fact, he has probably had many sleepless nights since Miami were drawn against PSG. The mismatch on paper was alarming. Predicting a PSG rout wasn’t going out on a limb. Miami has Messi and Suarez, but not much else, and for the Argentina captain, a humbling experience in front of the world was something he hoped wouldn’t occur.PSG scored their first goal six minutes into the game and then ran away for a 4-0 lead at half-time.Messi’s , highlighting how he was rarely involved in Inter Miami’s build-up playHe was embarrassed by his former club and a former manager, Luis Enrique. The types of goals that PSG scored were similar to those that Messi tapped in during his glory years with Barcelona. It was a flashback to the glitzy football Messi used to be a part of.In the second half, with the game over, he showed flashes of his lasting quality, but it was a game he will not want to recall., Lionel Andrés " Leo " Messi[note 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi] ⓘ; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team., Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were knocked out of the Club World Cup Round of 16 by European champion Paris Saint-Germain in dominant fashion 4-0 on Sunday. It was PSG’s third clean sheet in its .