Former Rangers ace Scott Arfield saw the funny side after being bamboozled by Lionel Messi during Charlotte FC’s recent 4-0 hammering by Inter Miami.
After being twisted into a human pretzel by the ageless Argentine, all he could do was laugh.
“I tried to tackle him and he made me cuddle my team-mate!” Scott Arfield quips, speaking to The Athletic last week. “I’d been running about trying to get a touch and he had been standing still.
“He just waits in pockets and then when he gets the ball, he can manipulate it at full speed. He can completely switch it on from 0 to 100. Playing against Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba was incredible.
“Messi was sublime.”
Lionel Messi not the only veteran shining in MLS
Messi’s remarkable transformation of a previously hapless Inter Miami outfit – 10 wins out of 11 with the World Cup winner pulling the strings – has understandably hogged the headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. But if any other MLS newcomer deserves a share of the column inches, it’s a 34-year-old Canadian who rescued a point in the 93rd minute away at Nashville after a similarly-dramatic winner at home to Los Angeles FC.
“Scott Arfield proved to be a game-changer off the bench,” reads the Charlotte FC website, reserving special praise for a man who has secured almost four points almost on his own since joining on a free transfer from Rangers.
“Scoring two crucial goals in two matches, including the game-winner against LAFC, he has provided leadership to the locker room and clutch goals on the field.”
“We needed midfielders and a left back, and we’ve gone out and gotten them,” adds sporting director Zoran Krneta. “We now have a group that fits better with the playing style that (head coach Christian) Lattanzio is building.
“Overall, we have significantly upgraded the team that finished last season strongly to have more quality and competition in the squad. We have already seen these summer signings quickly integrate into the locker room with their leadership and experience, which will be important as the team pushes forward for the playoffs.”
Former Rangers ace Scott Arfield is a ‘game-changer’
With three points separating Arfield’s Charlotte FC and Messi’s Inter Miami in the bottom half of the MLS’s Eastern Conference, both teams still have a long way to go if they are to force their way into the play-off spots.
But while Messi turned Inter Miami from also-rans into challengers almost overnight, Charlotte FC can also dream of better days with a game-changing addition of their own.
