Lionel Messi's goals are special, but his assists are what make him and Inter Miami a real threat

If you're thinking of going to see Lionel Messi at a stadium near you sometime during this Major League Soccer season, or this summer in the Copa América, then your train of thought is probably quite predictable.

The influx of fans who turn up whenever the Argentina superstar is in action for Inter Miami, often paying vastly inflated secondary market prices for the privilege, tend to arrive with a fairly uniform laundry list of priorities.

Naturally, they want to see Messi play, rather than be sidelined with the occasional nagging injuries that can befall a 36-year-old who gets kicked a lot by defenders. And they want to see him score, just like you'd want to see Shohei Ohtani ding one over the fence, or Patrick Mahomes fizz a couple of touchdown passes, or Caitlin Clark swish a bunch of deep threes, and so on.

But while Messi's goals have filled highlight reels for nearly two decades now, American fans are swiftly finding out that there is something arguably more enjoyable and definitely more exquisite than seeing him slam the ball into the net.

It is when the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner creates goals, like he did a ridiculous five times in Inter Miami's 6-2 victory over New York Red Bulls on Saturday, that his true genius is on full display. If you didn't see the game, go watch the highlights. If you've already seen the highlights, go watch them again. 

It is different level stuff, wizardry that is beyond the comprehension of even most elite soccer players, let alone us regular folk who just like to watch. Just when it looked like the buzz was wearing off a little after the electrifying start to Messi's American adventure last year, well, here it is again.

Accompanied by some of his old buddies from Barcelona, Messi