Miami’s latest cross-border final belonged to Lionel Messi once again. The Argentine captain headed Inter Miami in front against Cruz Azul, supplied the pass for Casemiro to settle a 2-0 victory, and lifted the Champions Cup as the 45th trophy of his professional career.
SEO Title: Messi wins 45th career trophy as Inter Miami beat Cruz Azul
SEO Description: Lionel Messi scored and assisted in Inter Miami’s 2-0 Champions Cup win over Cruz Azul, reaching 100 goals for the club and claiming his 45th senior title.
Messi reaches another landmark in Miami
Inter Miami claimed the Champions Cup for the first time in the competition’s eighth edition, with the one-match contest bringing together the Major League Soccer champions and the winners of Mexico’s Super Cup. Against Cruz Azul, the Florida side found the decisive moments through their familiar South American connection.
Messi opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, arriving to head Luis Suárez’s delivery beyond the Cruz Azul goalkeeper. The match remained alive well into the second half before Brazilian midfielder Casemiro made certain of the result in the 80th minute, converting after Messi created the opportunity.
The goal took Messi to 100 for Inter Miami in 115 appearances, a remarkable return during his fourth season with the club. He now has 928 official goals across club football and his Argentina career as he moves closer to the 1,000-goal mark.
The Champions Cup is Messi’s third piece of silverware in Miami. He won the Leagues Cup in 2023, his first year in the United States, before Inter Miami secured the MLS title in 2025. A previously unseen video of Messi keeping the ball up while seated has also spread widely online, another small reminder of the technique that has followed him from Barcelona to Paris and now South Florida.
His 45 trophies tell the wider story of a career that has crossed continents. Messi collected 35 honours with Barcelona after coming through the club’s academy, including 10 Spanish league titles, four Champions Leagues and three Club World Cups before leaving in 2021. His Paris Saint-Germain spell brought two French championships and the French Super Cup.
The remaining four titles came with Argentina: the 2022 World Cup, Copa América successes in 2021 and 2024, and the 2022 Finalissima. Messi is expected to make his final appearance for the national side during the next international window, when Argentina face Benin in a friendly on October 6.
