He had claimed a World Cup, won dozens of trophies and was generally considered the greatest player in the sport's history.
He didn't need an MLS Cup.
But he wanted one - and he got it.
Messi and Inter Miami have completed their ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) in the MLS Cup final for the franchise's first championship.
It came two and a half years after the legend arrived in South Florida, a move that stunned plenty of onlookers at the time.
He set up the title-clinching goal with a 72nd-minute assist to Rodrigo De Paul, a play where Messi stole the ball and threaded a pass through a tiny gap in a wall of Vancouver defenders.
De Paul got it in stride, pushed it into the far corner of the net - and Messi went airborne to hop into his arms a few seconds later, all smiles.
As the final minutes ticked away, Inter Miami's pink-clad fans - most wearing Messi's No.10 on their backs - stood and stomped and cheered.
South Florida has seen NFL and NBA and Major League Baseball and NHL titles in the past.
It's a soccer town now, too. Messi made that happen.
Tadeo Allende scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time - off another Messi assist, of course - to make it 3-1.
Inter Miami became the 16th franchise in the league's 30-year history to win an MLS title.
And it extends a run of parity for MLS, which has seen five different franchises win championships in the past five years and eight franchises claim a title in the past nine seasons — only Columbus have won twice in that span.
It was also the culmination of a 12-year odyssey for David Beckham, part of Inter Miami's ownership group.
He retired as a player in 2013 and his MLS contract said he could start a franchise at a discounted rate when his career ended. Beckham chose Miami and it took him years to finally make it happen. It wasn't until January 2018 when the franchise was formally born, after he partnered with Miami businessmen Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, and even then the team didn't have a stadium plan.
The team started play in 2020, and Messi arrived halfway through the 2023 season. Inter Miami were in last place at the time.
Then Messi arrived. The last-placed team then now runs the league.
"It's been an incredible journey," Beckham said.
The trophy is Messi's 47th for club and country, extending his global men's soccer record. He has now won at least 21 titles in one-match final situations.
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