LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes hail Lionel Messi as the GOAT after a stunning 94th-minute free kick in Inter Miami’s debut

Lionel Messi did what he does best on his MLS debut; he put the ball into the back of the net and, in doing so, wowed Fort Lauderdales and around the world.

The world of sports social media reacted in collective astonishment when Messi scored a free kick in the 94th minute to defeat Cruz Azul to the death.

Some of the biggest celebrities in the US include Kim Kardashian, LeBron James, Serena Williams along with English royals David and Victoria Beckham.

Online, the cream of the athletic world were in awe of what they witnessed at the DRV PNK Stadium.

The list included James, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, former NFL kicker and talk star Pat McAfee, as well as notable NFL media figures Ian Rapoport and Rich Eisen.

LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes and Pat McAfee were among those who reacted to Messi’s goal

‘Whoahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh’ King.

McAfee had a different choice of emoji, going for a litany of them before jokingly asking ‘Messi is the real deal, huh?’

NFL Network stars Eisen and Rapoport have seen their fair share of greatness on the gridiron, but they made sure to appreciate Messi’s brilliance.

“What an entrance,” Eisen said. While Rapoport was writing to his followers; ‘So good it’s funny. what a magician

YouTuber Speed ​​is known as a die-hard Cristiano Ronaldo fan, but he vowed to switch allegiance to Messi if he scored the last-second free kick.

Speed ​​proved a man of his word, removing a Portugal number 7 jersey during the celebration, to reveal an Inter Miami number 10 jersey with Messi’s name on the back.

Veteran American soccer pundit Alexi Lalas chimed in with a quip; ‘The boy is going to be good.’

Twitter comedian Josiah Johnson suggested that James and Messi might be celebrating on the Miami strip, even channeling Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in the 1998 classic “Twins.”

Others, including Alexi Lalas and the popular PMT podcast, credited Messi after his free kick.

Lionel Messi came off the bench with much fanfare in his Inter Miami debut against the Mexicans

Messi was expected to get around 30 minutes, but he played more than that, entering minutes after the second half began, with Miami leading 1-0.

And it didn’t take him long to show why Miami and MLS celebrated his signing so much, as he buzzed around the pitch and tucked his teammates behind the defense multiple times.

Cruz Azul would tie the game on 65 minutes, but there was ultimately too much time left for Messi’s heroics as the home team won.