Lionel Messi Brutally Mocked by Atlanta Over Pizza Choice As They Trash Inter Miami

• Inter Miami suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat to Atlanta United in Lionel Messi's absence
• Messi was left out entirely of the squad as he continues to nurse an injury he picked while on international duty
• He, however, still made headlines with his pizza choice providing fodder for banter among fans

Atlanta United aimed a savage dig at Lionel Messi minutes after beating Inter Miami 5-2 in the Major League Soccer on September 17.

Atlanta came from behind after Leo Campana's beautiful opener to run Miami rugged at the Mercedes Benz stadium.

Messi was absent from the match, the first he has missed for his new side since he joined them in July. The 36-year-old had just come back from international duty with Argentina and was not 100% fit to be involved.

He had picked up an injury in their clash against Ecuador and was not named in the squad to face Bolivia. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner nonetheless made the trip to La Paz and was among the assistant coaches as they won 3-0.

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Lionel Messi's 'disgusting' pizza

There were fears that he would miss the trip to Atlanta, with Messi himself seemingly confirming it a day earlier when he shared a pizza from Bancheros - a restaurant in Miami.

Fans were quick to troll him over the choice of his pizza toppings. Messi's pizza had large tomato choppings on top of it.

What Atlanta United said about Messi

After Atlanta won the game 5-2, the social media admin uploaded a similar pizza, only with fewer tomatoes shaped into an 'L' to signify Miami's loss and brutally commented;

"Here you have your pizza for the trip."

The magic caption attracted comments from fans, with @PizzaSportsGuy saying;

"I don’t appreciate Messi slander, but this is an exception. Well done."

@Brian_Murphy said;

"This is golden work. Well done."

The defeat leaves Tata Martino's side second from last in the Easter Conference, seven points adrift of qualification places.

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Messi watches son at Inter Miami academy

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Lionel Messi is using his day off to do father duties for his son, Thiago, who joined Inter Miami Academy U 12 weeks ago.

The Argentina captain was spotted sitting on the floor at pitchside with his sons, Mateo and Ciro, waiting to watch Thiago in action.