“Carrying this fraud team” “Nothing without him” - Twitter explodes as Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami slump to another damaging defeat

Fans shared their reactions on X (formerly Twitter) after Inter Miami suffered yet another defeat in Lionel Messi's absence on Wednesday, October 4.

They lost 4-1 to Chicago Fire FC in the Major League Soccer (MLS) at the Soldier Field on Wednesday. Xherdan Shaqiri opened the scoring for the hosts in the 49th minute before the Herons equalised four minutes later via Josef Martinez's penalty.

Maren Halle-Selassie then scored in the 62nd minute to restore Chicago's lead before scoring again three minutes later. Shaqiri completed his brace in the 73rd minute to complete a 4-1 win for his side.

With this defeat, Inter Miami have just one win in their last six games across competitions and did not win in their last four games. Captain Lionel Messi's absence due to injury has been detrimental for the Herons.

The Argentine suffered an injury during the international break last month. He returned to action in Inter Miami's 4-0 win over Toronto FC but could play only 37 minutes.

Fans online reacted to the Herons' poor form in the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's absence as one tweeted:

"He has been carrying this fraud team!"

Another fan wrote:

"They're nothing without him."

Here are some more reactions:

Lionel Messi has scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 12 games across competitions for the Herons since arriving as a free agent in the summer.

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Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas opens up on helping Lionel Messi get his Barcelona farewell

The Argentine forward spent over two decades at Barcelona since joining their academy from Newell's Old Boys in 2000. He scored 672 goals and provided 303 assists in 778 games for them, winning many trophies, including a whopping 10 La Liga titles.

Lionel Messi is certainly a Barcelona legend but his farewell from the club was far from ideal. The Blaugrana couldn't renew his contract in 2021 due to La Liga's wage rules and their financial struggles. Hence, he left as a free agent and joined Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Inter Miami two years later.

The Herons' co-owner Jorge Mas recently shared his thoughts on potentially helping Messi get his Barcelona farewell, telling Marca:

"Messi's departure from Barcelona was not his pleasure. He could not say goodbye to his club, which welcomed him as a child, and I believe that the circumstances were not what Lionel wanted."

"I gave him my commitment that I will do everything possible in the coming years so that he has the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona. Inter Miami will go (there), or we will have some kind of match."

Barcelona were interested in re-signing Lionel Messi in the summer after his PSG departure. However, their financial struggles and Messi's need for clarity led him to take the other route towards the MLS instead.