USMNT Legend Landon Donovan Criticise Messi: US Men’s National Soccer Team legend Landon Donovan has criticised Inter Miami star Lionel Messi for his reaction following the shocking loss to Atlanta United FC in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal of the MLS Cup.
Inter Miami is a star-studded super team in Major League Soccer. With the likes of Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets in the side, this team is filled with former European football greats.
And with such a squad, it was to no one’s surprise that the Herons not only finished on top of the Eastern Conference but topped the MLS 2024 league table overall, notching up 74 points in 34 games, with 22 wins, four losses, and eight draws. Topping the entire league also means that they won the Supporters’ Shield, which was recently announced as one of the criteria to qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
However, unlike football leagues across Europe, the MLS does not decide its winner based on the league table. From this point, the teams move to the playoffs; the top nine teams from each conference move to the playoffs. The eighth and ninth-ranked teams in both conferences take on a wildcard match, the winner of which goes properly into the playoffs.
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In the Eastern Conference, the Miami-based team naturally finished first, while Atlanta United finished ninth and had to defeat Montreal in the wildcard match. Miami and Atlanta then faced off in round one of the playoffs as the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds in their conference.
The first round of the MLS playoffs is a best-of-three series. The first match of this was played in Inter’s home ground, Chase Stadium in Ford Lauderdale, Florida, which the home side won 2-1 with Suarez and Alba scoring. The second match, which was played in the famous Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, saw United win 2-1.
With the result of the draw hanging in the balance as the series returned to the Chase Stadium, the eighth seed shocked the world when they won the match 3-2 and knocked out the No. 1 seed.
Frustrated following the loss and the end of his team’s season, Inter Miami star Lionel Messi failed to congratulate the opposition and their manager on their win. He didn’t even address or appreciate the crows and went straight into the team tunnel.
USMNT Legend Landon Donovan Criticise Messi
Following the match, USMNT and MLS legend Landon Donovan criticised Messi and said that a team leader like him should have stayed back after the loss to thank the fans for their support throughout the season. On his appearance at the Unfiltered Soccer podcast, Donovan had this to say:
“I don’t like that. Just shake their hands and say congratulations. Messi walked right off the field. Maybe in the locker room, they came out and said congrats or whatever, and by the way, your fans are out there too; at least congratulate them on a great season and thank them for all the support they’ve had.”
Despite missing a third of the regular season, Lionel Messi finished as the second-highest goal scorer in the league with 21 goals and 11 assists in just 22 matches. Even in the three playoff matches against Atlanta United, he scored two goals, including the 3-2 loss in the final game.
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