Lionel Messi has made an unforgettable debut for Inter Miami, netting the winner to give his new American club a 2-1 win over Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner converted a free kick from about 25 yards in the 94th minute, giving fans plenty to cheer about.

His left foot sent the ball over a wall of four Cruz Azul defenders and into the upper left corner of the net, with play resuming for roughly a minute before the referee's final whistle blew.

Welcome, Leo. He waved at fans while he was seated on the bench. Waved at them while he was warming up. Waved at them while he was actually in the game.

And if that wasn't enough, he saved his best moment for the end. He watched the ball sail into the net, something he's done about 800 times before for club and country, then sprinted to the right corner of the field and leapt into the arms of teammates.

Messi checked in early in the second half with Inter Miami leading 1-0. He hugged the player he was replacing, midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi, then trotted onto the field as the estimated crowd of 21,000 all seemed to be standing, almost all of them with phones out to chronicle the moment.

It took Inter Miami four years of planning and two years of actual pursuing to bring Messi to the club.

"Worth it," co-owner David Beckham said earlier in the week.

How right he was.

Nobody left their seats when the half-time whistle blew. The reason: Messi was on the field. He warmed up for about 5 minutes during intermission with the other reserves before they all left for the locker room.

And about eight minutes into the second half, it was Messi time.

The first Inter Miami goal of the Messi era was scored by Robert Taylor, who took a long cross from Robbie Robinson, moved into the box and sent a low drive off the inside of the far post and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead late in the first half.

Messi leaped from his seat, threw his hands in the air, applauded several times and broke into a wide smile.

Cruz Azul tied the game shortly after Messi checked in and had plenty of chances to take a late lead. But the final act belonged to Messi, a storybook ending if there ever was one.