Lionel Messi: The player who’s bigger than the club… and the FIFA Club World Cup tournament?

When Inter Miami found itself down 1-0 in the early goings against FC Porto, Lionel Messi looked slightly vexed at the situation, so it’s no surprise that he turned back the clock with a bit of magic to score a game-winning free kick in Atlanta.

There’s a well-worn cliché in soccer: No player is bigger than the club. At the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday in Atlanta, with the event still in its infancy, that old saying was tossed to the side and replaced by a question on the lips of the 31,783 in attendance – can a player be bigger than the tournament? The soccer star in question, of course, was a certain Lionel Andrés Messi, for whom the masses had made their pilgrimage to worship, as his Inter Miami took on Portuguese giant FC Porto in the second matchday of Group A. But until a magical Messi moment in the 54th minute, the match was in danger of becoming a mere sideshow to supporters expressing their admiration – actually, more like unbridled passion – for the 37-year-old who has long cemented his status as one of the greats of the sport. And let’s face it: winning nearly everything of note for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain – as well as his country of Argentina, who is the reigning World Cup champion – doesn’t exactly hurt his case. Ahead of kickoff outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it was evident how the pull of Messi knows no limits – or rather miles. While there were supporters from Atlanta in attendance, CNN Sports spoke with families from Louisiana, Alabama, Charleston, Washington DC, and Buffalo, as well as Puerto Rico and Dublin, Ireland. They had made the journey for one reason, despite one fan doing his best to convince all in earshot, including himself, that “we are here for the football!” Inside, when Messi was introduced 30 minutes ahead of kickoff, the roar from the fairly sparse crowd resembled an environment more in keeping with a sold out stadium.