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Lionel Messi scores 100th Inter Miami goal vs Cruz Azul, the same club he scored against on his US debut
Lionel Messi's Inter Miami career came full circle on Wednesday as he scored his 100th goal for the club against Cruz Azul, the same team against which he scored his first goal in 2023.
Lionel Messi reached a notable landmark in his Inter Miami career on Wednesday as he scored his 100th goal for the club during the 2026 Campeones Cup final against Cruz Azul at Nu Stadium in Miami.
The Argentine opened the scoring in the 24th minute, heading Luis Suarez's cross into the net to put Inter Miami 1-0 ahead. The goal made Messi the first player in Inter Miami history to reach 100 goals across all competitions, and it came in 115 appearances.
The goal also came against the same opponent that featured in Messi's first appearance and first goal for Inter Miami. Messi made his club debut against Cruz Azul in the 2023 Leagues Cup and scored a stoppage-time free-kick to give Miami a 2-1 victory.
Three years later, Cruz Azul again provided the opposition for another significant moment in his Inter Miami career.
Messi's 100 Inter Miami goals have come across four seasons. According to the club, he scored 11 goals in 2023, 23 in 2024 and 43 in 2025. He has scored 23 goals thus far this season.
The milestone was part of Messi's decisive performance, which also contributed to Inter Miami's second goal. In the 81st minute, the captain delivered a corner that Casemiro headed into the net to double Miami's advantage. The 2-0 victory secured Inter Miami's first Campeones Cup title.
The match was the annual meeting between the reigning MLS Cup champion and the Liga MX Campeon de Campeones winner. Inter Miami entered the game as the reigning MLS Cup holders, while Cruz Azul represented the Mexican-based league Liga MX.
The victory made Inter Miami the latest MLS club to win the competition and brought the all-time Campeones Cup record between MLS and Liga MX to four victories apiece.
The match was also the first competitive fixture for Cristian Gonzalez as Inter Miami's head coach. Gonzalez was appointed earlier in September and has begun his tenure with a trophy.
Messi's 100th goal added another milestone to his Inter Miami career, which began in July 2023. Since his arrival, the club has won at least one trophy in each season: the 2023 Leagues Cup, the 2024 Supporters' Shield, the 2025 MLS Cup and the 2026 Campeones Cup.
The former Barcelona star won the 2025 Golden Boot award with 48 goal contributions (29 goals and 19 assists), and also went on to win the Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player award in 2025 and 2026. He thus became the first-ever player to win the award in consecutive seasons.
Messi announced his retirement from Argentina duty on 31 August, and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) subsequently confirmed that he had been invited back for a farewell appearance against Benin on 6 October at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.