Miami’s exit was a bitter end to what promised to be a night of celebration after Messi’s early opener in the club’s final game at their Chase Stadium home in Fort Lauderdale.
Messi’s strike took the Argentine’s goals tally for the reigning MLS champions to 81 since his move to Florida in 2023.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner previously scored 672 goals for Spanish giants Barcelona, 32 for France’s Paris Saint-Germain and 115 international goals for Argentina.
Goal No. 900 came almost 21 years after Messi’s first goal in senior football, when he scored for Barcelona in a 2-0 win over Albacete as a 17-year-old rookie in 2005.
Widely regarded as the greatest player in football history, Messi still has some way to go to overtake his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Portuguese superstar who is on 965 career goals.
Speaking ahead of Messi’s 900th goal, Miami manager and former Argentina and Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano described the star’s goal total as “madness”.
Mascherano said, “I’ve been so fortunate that I’ve seen most or many of the goals he scores from much closer than all of you and that’s a privilege.”
“This number we’re talking about (900) is crazy, and that’s why Leo is a unique number.”