New England Revolution star Mark-Anthony Kaye has revealed his thoughts on facing Lionel Messi at Inter Miami this season.
The Herons traveled to Gillette Stadium in late April as Messi inspired Inter Miami to a solid away win with a 4-1 victory against New England, where the Argentine scored twice and assisted another two in an incredible individual performance.
One of Messi’s many record-breaking displays in MLS this year, Inter Miami have been the best team in the division this season, with the Florida franchise currently leading the Supporters’ Shield standings with a healthy lead.
And New England and Canada star Kaye has now shared what it was like facing Messi.
Faye hails ‘great challenge’ in facing Inter Miami and Messi
Speaking to FIFA’s official website, the 29-year-old midfielder praised Messi and how it felt taking on Inter Miami, with Kaye noting how incredible the forward’s connection with Sergio Busquets was on the day.
Despite the last two games before heading off to the Copa America, Messi has proven to be quite a handful for MLS defenders, with the 37-year-old attacker scoring 12 goals and bagging nine assists in the league already.
And for Kaye, Messi felt like an honor of sorts for the former LAFC superstar, with the Canadian international also noting how the Argentine international has taken MLS and soccer in the United States to a whole new level.
Kaye said when asked about facing Messi: “He’s a very quiet guy, doesn’t say anything to you, but it was a great challenge. You can see that he has an incredibly good connection with [Sergio] Busquets but, look, I won some tackles against him. I guess that’s something I can tell my kids about one day!”
MLS players will be desperate to face Messi this season
Messi is easily the biggest and best player to ever set foot in MLS, and it’s no real surprise that top names in the division, like Kaye, are still thinking about when they went head-to-head with the Inter Miami star.
The former FC Barcelona superstar, even at the age he is now, is arguably the greatest to ever play the game of soccer, and at this stage of his career, everyone in MLS would love to face off against Messi before he retires.
Indeed, Messi became the biggest target in MLS the second he joined the league, yet from Kaye’s comments, opposition are enjoying the challenge of facing the 37-year-old at Inter Miami.