Never rule out Lionel Messi. From defiantly holding up his jersey in front of a hostile Santiago Bernabeu after that iconic last-minute winner against Real Madrid in 2017 to coming up with a miracle assist to Nahuel Molina against the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup, Messi has shown time and again that even the twilight of his career is as bright as its dawn was. Naturally, fans still can’t stop being enamored by what the World Cup winner can pull out of his seemingly bottomless bag of tricks.

Last Sunday was pretty bittersweet for Messi. On one hand, he got to meet his former teammates as PSG faced Inter Miami in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup. On the other hand, the reigning Champions League champions also ended Messi’s hopes of winning his fourth CWC title. But he took the loss with a grin. “…it gave me joy to see them again,” Messi wrote in a social media post after the defeat. But he’s back in the MLS and making fans gasp with joy with his magical left foot once again.

Joe Pompliano took to X on July 5 to share an incredible moment from Saturday’s clash between Inter Miami and CF Montreal. During the 62nd minute of the game, Messi danced past almost all of the hosts’ defenders to score his second goal of the match. “Messi still doing this kind of stuff at 38 years old is unbelievable,” wrote Pompliano in his post, with evident disbelief. After receiving the ball from Suarez in the middle of the field, Messi tore through Montreal’s half, dribbled past five defenders to smash the ball into the roof of the hosts’ net as if it was 2012 again.

Lionel Messi’s goal from the second half of the game sealed Miami’s 4-1 victory on the road. Not only that, but it also ensured that Leo’s mistake early into the game was also compensated for in style. Just a couple of minutes after the ref blew his whistle to kick off Saturday’s match, Messi’s miscommunication with right back Marcelo Weigandt landed the ball right in the path of CF Montréal’s Prince Owusu, who didn’t fail to put the hosts ahead by capitalizing on Miami’s slip-up.

But Messi made sure to make amends for his mistake in the most Lionel Messi way possible. A goal in the 40th minute left the Montreal defenders looking like the Athletic Bilbao defence from the 2015 Copa Del Rey Final, which saw the Argentine break out of a tight situation on the right flank to dribble past four defenders to put the ball into the near corner. With two goals to his name tonight, Leo now has 12 goals and 7 assists in this MLS season, making him a strong contender for the MVP title for the second time in two years.

Fans, like Joe, were also thunderstruck by how Messi managed to score so easily, as if the defenders weren’t even there. “Idk how he can recover and gain control of the ball again so quickly, it’s like the ball is gravitating back to his foot,” one fan was clearly in awe of what Messi can still produce despite playing soccer professionally for almost 20 years. Others agreed, and not just about Messi’s supremacy with the ball at his feet.

Fans once again drool over Lionel Messi’s brilliance

His brace against Montreal was far from the only vintage moment that Lionel Messi treated his fans to recently. After all, just weeks ago, he scored an incredible top-corner goal against Porto to give his side a 2-1 victory over the two-time European champions. “He is simply inevitable,” wrote one fan on X, noting their admiration for one of the true GOATS of the game. “Will never be another like him,” another Messi fan drew the bottom line.

With Barcelona, Lionel Messi won the FIFA Club World Cup thrice. Reaching the knockout stages of the competition this year with Inter Miami made many hope that he could repeat that feat from years ago for an American team. But the champ that he is, Messi refused to let the setback bog him down for the road ahead, and his brace against Montreal surely helped to get over the blues. The fans, too, were glad to get behind him once again. “Brilliance in motion,” said one fan with pure elation.

“NOBODY comes close to him,” said another fan. And yet, while some fans were overjoyed to see him back in his natural habitat and scoring goals, others couldn’t help but point out how Montreal only made the job easy for him. “Messi is good but that is some horrendously bad defending,” one fan sneered at Saturday’s MLS hosts. So, how did Lionel Messi’s double make you feel? Tell us in a comment!