Two matches into the MLS 2026 season, and Lionel Messi has been involved in two incidents that suggest the Argentine is not in a cheery mood. USMNT legend Landon Donovan has now commented, calling it the villainous arc for the Inter Miami captain.
Lionel Messi Is Not Messing Around at Inter Miami This Season
Inter Miami started their season with a 3-0 defeat at LAFC, despite the best efforts of Messi & co on the pitch. The Argentine was seen making his way to the referees’ room after the match, but the league cleared him of any wrongdoing, stating he had not entered the restricted area.
On the Unfiltered Soccer Podcast this week, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard spoke about the Inter Miami captain, saying that the forward was slowly becoming a villain in the league. The LA Galaxy legend spoke about the post-match incident and said:
“Messi picked up with his villainous stature. There’s some confrontations with the match officials after the game. After further investigation, apparently, he never entered any restricted area. So he will not be suspended. Sometimes you know he did something, but for this one, I don’t know.”
The decision not to hand Messi a ban or fine was not a surprise, as Chris Rivett, a spokesman for the Professional Referee Organization, told The Athletic soon after the game that the 38-year-old had not entered the restricted area in the stadium.
The Barcelona legend continued his ‘villainous’ behavior in the second game, with the Argentine spotted mocking the opponent’s coach, Oscar Pareja. The Inter Miami captain asked the 57-year-old if he wanted an autograph right after scoring the 4th goal of the match in injury time.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano spoke about Messi after the Orlando City match, saying that the Argentine was a leader on the pitch. He added that the comments exchanged with the Orlando City coach while they were 2-0 down inspired the Barcelona legend to go the extra mile in the second half and said:
“In addition to being what I have said a thousand times, the best ever to play the sport, he’s a leader whose energy is contagious, but sometimes he needs to be inspired. He needs to see things on the field to start to believe and in the second half he looked much better because when we scored that quick goal we started to find him in spaces he feels comfortable.”
Inter Miami take on D.C. United next in the MLS on Saturday, March 7. They have a trip to the White House also scheduled ahead of the match after being invited as the MLS Cup champions.
