How Lionel Messi has performed in EVERY debut

Robin Bairner

• 22 Jul 2023 20:13 BST
• 4 min read

Lionel Messi made a goalscoring start to life as an Inter Miami player. How have his debuts gone for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina before it?

Messi completed his sensational move to MLS on 15 July, spurning the advances of former club Barca and Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in the process, to join David Beckham's franchise on a free transfer.

He wasted little time in making an impact, coming off the bench to curl home a 94th-minute free-kick as Tata Martino's side secured a 2-1 win over Mexican side Cruz Azul in the newly formed Leagues Cup.

FootballTransfers takes a close looks at all of Messi's debuts to date.

Messi's Barcelona debut

Messi's debut for Barcelona arrived against Jose Mourinho's Porto in an exhibition match to mark the opening of their Estadio do Dragao.

Messi was playing with the youth team when he received the call to play for the seniors for the first time.

"16 November 2003 is a very important date for me," he told Barca TV. "Because that's when I was able to make my childhood dream come true - it was a very happy day for me. I'd fought hard to make that moment happen and it was really special."

Messi came on as a substitute in the closing stages of the game and turned in a promising - but not flawless - debut. In his brief appearance, he had two chances to score but made the wrong decision in trying to pass after robbing the opposing goalkeeper, then couldn't quite get hold of a shot as he slid in behind the Porto defence to reach a through ball.

"I remember after the game coach Frank Rijkaard came up to me and said: 'You missed a good chance,'" he admitted.

Messi's La Liga debut

Messi's competitive debut for Barcelona didn't come until 16 October 2004, when he was a substitute against Espanyol. He played only eight minutes, but did become Barcelona's youngest ever player in the competition in the process.

Messi’s infamous Argentina debut

Having elected to play for Argentina instead of Spain, Messi was a hit on his debut with the Under-20 side. Indeed, in a friendly against Paraguay, he excelled by scoring one and assisting two more in an 8-0 win.

Messi's full Argentina debut didn't go nearly so well. Brought off the bench on 17 August 2004 - before he had even played for Barcelona - he was a replacement in a friendly against Hungary. He was introduced shortly after the hour mark but lasted just two minutes of the game before being sent off.

Hungary player Vilmos Vanczak grabbed his shirt as Messi ran away from him, and in shaking his rival off, Messi caught him with an arm. Though the action was accidental and not particularly serious, the referee sent him off.

Messi was found after the match sobbing in the dressing room.

Messi's PSG debut

Messi made his long-awaited PSG debut on Sunday 29 August 2021, following his shock Bosman transfer from Barcelona that summer.

The Argentine travelled with his PSG teammates to Reims for the fourth matchday of the Ligue 1 season.

PSG won the game comfortably 2-0 thanks to two goals from Kylian Mbappe, while Messi started on the bench and was introduced for Neymar in the 66th minute.

The Argentine had a few nice touches and went on one fine run with just over 10 minutes remaining but was still clearly working his way back to match fitness having barely trained since that year's victorious Copa America campaign.

Messi's stunning Inter Miami debut

Messi may have got off to a slow start on his last few debuts, but he wasted little time in impressing his new supporters, scoring the winner against Cruz Azul with a trademark free-kick.

Robert Taylor and Uriel Antuna had exchanged goals in the sides' Leagues Cup meeting at Inter's DRV PNK Stadium and the game looked to be heading for a draw.

But Messi replaced Benjamin Cremaschi on 54 minutes and by the end of the game had scored the deciding goal, leaving Andres Gudino with no chance in the Cruz Azul goal.