Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami past Vancouver for 1st MLS Cup

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi’s legacy was long secured when he came to Inter Miami and joined Major League Soccer. He’d won a World Cup, won dozens of trophies, was generally considered the greatest player in the sport’s history. He didn’t need an MLS Cup. But he wanted one – and got it. Messi and Inter Miami have completed their ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday in the MLS Cup final for the franchise’s first championship. It came 2½ 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...