Lionel Messi and David Beckham partyed in Miami on Friday night to celebrate a 4-0 win over Charlotte FC in the Leagues Cup.
Their wives, Antonela Roccuzzo and Victoria Beckham, joined in the celebrations along with Miami’s two other soccer superstars in Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
There was also Busquets’ wife, Elena, who posed with Victoria and Antonela after another great night on the Inter Miami soccer field.
Messi scored his eighth Miami goal in just his fifth appearance for his new team as they advanced to the League Cup quarterfinals and now have a realistic chance of winning a trophy next weekend.
And to mark the occasion, Messi, Miami co-owner Beckham and the rest of the group were welcomed by David Grutman at Gekko Miami, a sushi and steakhouse.
David Beckham and Lionel Messi celebrated Inter Miami’s 4-0 win over Charlotte with Jordi Alba (second left), Sergio Busquets (second right) and David Grutman (right)
Messi and his wife Antonela Roccuzzo were photographed celebrating a successful football night
Antonela posed for a photograph with Victoria Beckham (right) and Sergio Busquets’ wife, Elena
Roccuzzo shared a photo with her husband Messi after his eighth Miami goal in his fifth game
Miami co-owner David Beckham poses with his new stars Alba (left), Messi and Busquets
Victoria posted some photos from the night on Instagram and wrote: ‘I LOVE MIAMI!!! Very fun last night!!! Kisses @DavidBeckham @AntonelaRoccuzzo @Leo Messi xxxx’.
Meanwhile, Grutman shared photos of himself with the rising stars of American soccer, captioning the pictures “Casual Friday.”
Grutman is a friend of the Beckham family and has been seen at several Miami games at DRV PNK Stadium since Messi arrived to play for the team last month.
He’s had a front-row seat in what has been Messi’s meteoric impact on the Miami team, which plays the Philadelphia Union on Tuesday night for a spot in the final.
It was Messi’s teammate who gave Miami the lead over Charlotte on Friday night, scoring a penalty in the 12th minute.
Robert Taylor doubled the lead 20 minutes later with his third goal for the team since Messi joined the squad.
They made it 3-0 in the 78th minute with an Adilson Malanda own goal that put the game out of Charlotte’s reach: she was reaching to intercept a pass through the goal and inadvertently past her own goalie.
And it was Messi who rounded off the scoring with a goal of his own, which he converted from close range with a thunderous left-footed shot and the ball was cut off into the area.
Busquets, who was photographed posing for a selfie with Grutman at the restaurant on Friday night, said afterward that it is “beautiful” to play with Messi again.
Meanwhile, Miami coach Tata Martino insisted it’s not solely due to Messi that the team has begun to improve its form. Friday’s win over Charlotte was Miami’s biggest of 2023.
“It’s not just Leo, we have found different ways to be able to score,” Martino said.
Messi and Busquets pose for a photo with Grutman (center), owner of the Japanese steakhouse Gekko Miami, where the Miami stars headed after beating Charlotte FC.
Grutman poses for a photo with Busquets, who arrived in Miami with Lionel Messi
Messi starred again when Inter Miami defeated Charlotte FC with a resounding score of 4-0
Messi and Miami will return to action Tuesday night against Philadelphia Union
But Charlotte coach Christian Lattanzio couldn’t help but focus on Messi’s impact after the game.
When you have Messi, you know he just needs a chance. He just needs a second,’ he said.
“You have to be very smart to prevent him from producing the magic that he has been producing since he went to Barcelona when he was 16 years old.”
Messi, Busquets and Alba return to action for Miami on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Union, seeking a place in next weekend’s League Cup final.
The Union is at home for that game, hosting Miami at Union Park.
