Inter Miami star David Ruiz reacts as teammate Lionel Messi equals club owner David Beckham’s free-kick record in win against Ecuador

Lionel Messi scored a stunning free-kick once again to help Argentina get a crucial win over Ecuador in FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Inter Miami teammate David Ruiz was delighted and sent a message to the Argentine on Instagram.

Messi scored the only goal of the match on Thursday night to help Argentina get the 1-0 win over Ecuador. It was the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifers, and the Inter Miami star was the hero once again.

The former Barcelona star posted on Instagram after equalling David Beckham's record of 65 free kicks for club and country. He is now a goal away from matching Ronaldinho, while also being 12 away from Juninho.

Ruiz was quick to comment on the post and wrote "Grande" in the comments section. In a previous interview, the Inter Miami star spoke about the advice he has got from the Argentine and said:

"One thing Messi told me is to stand still more. You want to run for every ball, look for space to have it more, but he has told me to stay still in my position and the ball will come to me. I tried it and it came off. I was more patient."

Ruiz has played nine matches with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami and they have won eight of those games.

David Beckham on Inter Miami signing Lionel Messi

David Beckham was in Japan with his family when Lionel Messi announced his decision to join the MLS side. The Inter Miami co-owner was bombarded with texts once the move was made public.

He said:

"A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to about a million messages on my phone. I was thinking, 'What's gone off? I don't usually get this many messages.' All of a sudden, I hear Leo has come out and announced he's coming to Miami. Obviously, it wasn't a surprise to me. I have always said, from the word go, that if I had the opportunity to bring the best players in the game to Miami, at whatever time of their careers, I would do that. I have always made that commitment to our fans."

Speaking about the unveiling, Beckham added:

"We have the greatest player in history in our city and in our club, that attracted a lot of attention around the world, something we always wanted. We had 3.5 billion viewers during Leo's presentation, it was something very big."

On Wednesday, Lionel Messi became the first active MLS player to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or since Inter Miami owner David Beckham.