The ex-USMNT star said Messi is showing "how frustrated he has been with his team and with the capacity of his teammates"
Gomez points to Inter Miami's recent poor form Says Messi frustrated with teammates as wellClaims referee criticism serves as convenient distractionGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED
Following yet another Inter Miami loss, a disappointing 3-0 drubbing by in-state rival Orlando City, superstar Lionel Messi expressed frustration with several decisions made by the referee, saying "MLS has to look at some of the officiating."
Former USMNT and MLS star Herculez Gomez took issue with Messi's claims, saying the comments were merely an excuse for Inter Miami’s poor recent form, as the club is now winless in six of last seven.
“It’s an excuse, it’s absolutely an excuse, and he’s not fooling anybody,” Gomez said on ESPN's Futbol Americas. “Look, he’s the greatest of all time in my eyes, nobody is arguing his greatness or his place in world football. But if you were watching Inter Miami, and if you’ve been watching this show, we’ve been telling you how frustrated he has been with his team, with his situation and with the capacity of his teammates.
“And for quite sometime now, we’re hearing and seeing those frustrations come out. And it’s against the ref last week in San Jose, it’s his body language in the last five games for Inter Miami."
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Gomez said Messi was attempting to shift focus away from the team's subpar performance.
“Messi can still change a game, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Messi are game-changers," he said. "But now, longer in the tooth, they have to pick and choose their moments, and MLS, if anything, is a physical league, a very capable physical league. If you don’t have one player that isn’t running, that’s fine if that player is Messi. Two players, maybe you can get away with it if that’s Luis Suarez of last year scoring 20-plus goals and almost double-digit assists, it is very comparable.
"But if it’s Busquets, if it’s Jordi Alba, if it’s Messi, if it’s Suarez who don’t run – and the rest of the players don’t have the capability of being playmakers when they need to be playmakers, being smart when they need to be smart, being calculated when they need to be calculated – then every single team is going to do what Vancouver, what Orlando, what all these teams have been doing to Inter Miami. And Messi understands that, so he’s lashing out at the only place he can right now, which is the referees. This was not on the referees, this was Inter Miami and how bad they are.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Inter Miami's recent form has fallen well short of expectations despite fielding one of the most expensive and decorated squads in MLS history. The 3-0 defeat to Orlando continues a concerning trend for the Herons, who have struggled to find consistency. Miami have lost five of their last seven games.
Getty Images SportWHAT’S NEXT?
The Herons currently sit in sixth on the Eastern Conference table with 22 points after 13 league games. They face the Philadelphia Union next on May 24. Following that, Messi and company host CF Montreal at the Chase Stadium on May 28.