Lionel Messi's Inter Miami Crushed by PSG in Club World Cup

Lionel Messi and David Beckham's reunion with Paris Saint-Germain ended with their Inter Miami side being emphatically dumped out of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday. PSG thrashed Miami 4-0 in Atlanta, with all four goals arriving during a one-sided first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Miami, who were given a special invite to the Club World Cup by FIFA after winning Major League Soccer's Supporters' Shield earlier this year, had made an impressive start to the tournament in the United States. Messi and Co qualified from Group A without losing. They drew 0-0 with Al Ahly before beating Porto 2-1. Miami then played out a 2-2 draw with Palmeiras. The game against Palmeiras had seen Miami make a brilliant start by taking a 2-0 lead.

However, they made a terrible start against the champions of Europe in Sunday's round of 16 contest. There were just six minutes on the clock when Joao Neves opened the scoring. The American outfit then managed to hold out until the 39th minute when Neves doubled his tally. That opened the floodgates, with Tomas Aviles scoring an own goal moments later before Achraf Hakimi added a fourth in first-half added time.

Messi saw his current team emphatically beaten by the club he represented from 2021 to 2023. Inter Miami president David Beckham, pictured in a sling, saw his team exit the Club World Cup. Messi looked exasperated as the goals continued to flow. The 38-year-old, who spent two seasons with PSG between 2021 and 2023, touched the ball just 14 times in the first half, with some of those coming from kick-offs.

Speaking before kick-off, Inter Miami president Beckham — who was wearing a sling around his right arm after undergoing surgery earlier in the week — had described PSG as 'probably the best team in the world right now'. They certainly lived up to that billing in the first half, although the second period was much more even. PSG will now play either Bayern Munich or Brazilian side Flamengo in the quarter-finals.

Beckham ended his playing days at PSG in 2013 and he still holds a lot of affection for the French club. In a pre-match interview with DAZN, he added: 'For me to have finished my career in Paris the way I did with this club was very special. I only spent six months there but it felt like 16 years. It's a real family, a real special club, owned by special people, run by a special man. We're very proud of this moment, to be stood here knowing that we are playing against PSG — as owners, as friends, as partners, it is very special.'

According to the source: Daily Mail.