MLS players slammed for 'embarrassing' Lionel Messi interaction after thrashing

 Former Canadian international turned pundit Kaylyn Kyle was left less than impressed by the “embarrassing” response of some FC Cincinnati players following their 4-0 pummeling by Inter Miami in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Despite having both finished the regular season on 65 points, with Cincinnati powered by two-time MLS All-Star and MVP hopeful Evander, the home side was completely outclassed by Javier Mascherano’s team, with Lionel Messi putting on yet another dominant display, this time alongside rising star Mateo Silvetti, who surprisingly started in place of Luis Suarez.

After a Silvetti cross was headed in by Messi within the first 20 minutes, it took until the second half for Miami to truly take full control, with Silvetti scoring his first goal for the club in just his seventh appearance, sniping a shot across the face of Roman Celentano’s goal off a Messi assist in the 57th minute to put some breathin room between the sides.

Tadeo Allende swiftly sealed Cincinnati’s coffin with an impressive brace in the 62nd and 74th minutes to send Miami to the Conference Final. However, it was the actions of several Cincinnati players after the final whistle that bothered Kyle, as they quickly headed over to Messi to ask to swap jerseys.

“You’re at home, at TQL Stadium, you’ve just been pummeled 4-0 by Inter Miami. And you’re asking to trade jerseys with Lionel Messi?” the 101-time international commented on Apple TV’s post-game coverage.

“I understand that he’s one of the world’s greatest, but you should be embarrassed with that performance. Your fans show up week in, week out, and you’re asking for the jersey of someone who’s just beaten you 4-0. And it’s the fourth consecutive season that you’ve been knocked out of the postseason.

“It’s embarrassing, it’s not good enough from FC Cincinnati. They’ve spent way too much money, and there’s no more excuses.”

Messi’s jersey ultimately went to Teenage Hadebe, while Luca Orellano also handed his jersey to the Argentine legend during a brief exchange.

By comparison, for Cincinnati forward Kévin Denkey, swapping jerseys with Messi was the last thing on his mind in that moment, telling the local ABC affiliate, “I don’t care to have Messi jersey…I wanted to win. I didn’t win. I’m sad. And it’s normal, I’m sad, I wanted to win. I need to digest it tonight.”

For Cincinnati, this loss means the franchise will have to wait yet another season to finally make it past the Conference Semi-Final, with head coach Pat Noonan admitting post-game that they simply gave eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi “too much time.”

“Obviously, we gave too much time to Messi in some areas where the way he's advancing with the ball and the way they move off of the ball, it's tough to deal with,” Noonan explained. “And I don't think we protected the space behind well enough or recognized some of those runs to drop our line.

“And, like I said, we had some chances to maybe get the momentum back in our favor. They obviously were earlier, but when we didn't take those, the momentum, I think, each time we don't find the goal kind of adds up, and you could feel that.”

While Cincinnati’s hopes of silverware have been dashed yet again, Miami soldiers on, arguably looking more impressive than they have all season ahead of their Eastern Conference final against New York City FC on Saturday. There, Messi will look to add to his remarkable statistics of the season thus far, having scored 43 goals and provided 23 assists in 47 games across all competitions.