Messi Caught Moving Ball 'Illegally' Again Before Free Kick, Referee Stops Him This Time

• ,A referee stopped Lionel Messi from moving the ball before taking a free kick for Inter Miami
• The Argentine veteran has previously done the same trick but officials did not seem to spot it
• Sports Brief compares the first time to the latest incident where he was stopped in his tracks

Remember that time Lionel Messi moved the ball 'illegally' before a free kick, but the officials did not spot it - and he ended up scoring another golazo for Inter Miami?

No? Really? Worry not. Let's recap.

Messi has taken to life in the United States like a duck to water, having scored 11 goals in 10 appearances, winning the Leagues Cup, and with another final to come in September.

One of the attributes that he has quickly cemented up North is his free kick-taking attributes. He is arguably the best taker of our generation. Shout out to James Ward-Prowse, though.

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Messi's free-kick tactics

But as fans learned on August 7, Messi at times uses underhanded tactics to get undue advantage in a set piece.

As the referee directed the defensive wall, the Argentine showed his uncanny nature by moving the ball from the original spot where the foul had taken place.

Messi moved the ball not once, not twice, not thrice, but five times, as reported by Sports Brief. He finally found the perfect angle and bent in a beautiful goal.

Genius, right?

Unluckily for him, the referee in his latest game against Nashville FC on August 30 must have read our piece and barred the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner from using similar tricks.

With the game still deadlocked at 0-0, Messi had the chance to bend in a free kick and as it usually is, the opponents were fidgeting.

Messi's actions against Nashville

In a video shared by ESPN, the former Barcelona captain looked at the position of the wall and possibly a favourable angle and moved the ball two times.

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The referee spotted it and asked the new Miami star to return the ball to its original position. 'Hey man, I know you are the GOAT and everything, but please...' - you know, something of that sort.

Like the humble human being he is, Messi obliged. But get this, in what makes for hilarious viewing, less than a microsecond later, Antonela Roccuzzo's boo moved the ball again.

The official didn't give up, he once again requested the number 10 to move the ball back.

A visibly agitated Messi obliged once more and slammed the ball on the turf before moving it, for the fourth time if you are keeping count, a few inches from where the referee wanted.

No booking for Messi

The father of three should be lucky that he isn't playing in the Premier League. Such delays or complaints attract instant yellow cards and if you see Bruno Fernandes trying to tape his mouth shut, just know the officials are pretty serious about it.

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Once the push and pull was over, Messi took the free kick, but unlike against Dallas, he didn't score this time. He didn't score in the whole game in fact - the first time he has finished a match for the Beckham-owned Miami without a goal involvement.

He didn't get the angle he wanted, or maybe the referee got into his head, or maybe it wasn't just his day.

Either way, we have a feeling Cristiano Ronaldo fanboys will use this to discredit a majority of the freekicks Messi has taken.

In a world where who has influenced which players to move to the league he is playing in is used as a parameter in the GOAT debate, this looks like the perfect ammunition for the staunch support base of Ronaldo.

You can thank us later, by the way - fire!