MLS

A friendly featuring Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team descended into chaos in the waning moments of the match Thursday night, as a group of fans rushed the pitch to snag a selfie with the soccer legend -- which ended with Messi being dragged to the ground.

It all unfolded in the 88th minute of the match against Independiente del Valle of Ecuador when a man ran onto the field and took his shirt off. He was then followed by two other fans who were wearing Messi jerseys. One guy got a selfie, another an autograph.

The shirtless fan then hugged Messi, prompting security to grab him and take him to the ground, but because the guy had his hands on Lionel, he went along for the ride.

LeBron James was quite the football player in high school ... but how about football?? USMNT player Diego Luna tells TMZ Sports he woulda been a BEAST on the pitch in his prime!!

There's always an athlete claiming they could dominate another sport ... so when we ran into Luna at LAX this week, we had to ask which American jock could actually pull it off for the Red, White, and Blue.

"LeBron man, put him up top," Luna said. "Scoring goals, just bossing people around. That would be pretty sick."

Lionel Messi was captured on the Coldplay Kiss Cam -- a dangerous place to be these days -- but, no Astronomer reenactment here ... the soccer legend hit up the show with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo!

The couple -- along with their three kids -- hit up Hard Rock Stadium Sunday night to catch the band's final U.S. show on their "Music of the Spheres" tour.

As you would expect, the crowd went nuts when Messi was shown on the big screen, including Coldplay's frontman, Chris Martin.

A San Diego FC fan was blindsided by a sucker punch following his favorite team's game Saturday night -- and the big KO blow was all captured on video.

The violence unfolded just after SDFC beat LAFC, 3-2, at Snapdragon Stadium ... when supporters of both teams got into a skirmish near the venue's parking lot.

Footage from the scene shows as a man in an SDFC jacket sprung into a skirmish to escalate a verbal altercation -- another man tagged him in the side of the face with a vicious right hand.

Proud mama moment for Kim Kardashian ... her son, Saint West, got the ultimate VIP experience at the Inter Miami vs. L.A. Galaxy match -- escorting Lionel Messi to the field!!

The cool interaction happened prior to Sunday's contest at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson ... when the soccer G.O.A.T. and his teammates walked onto the pitch with a number of local youth players.

8-year-old Saint -- the oldest son of Kim K and Kanye West -- was the lucky one picked to walk with Messi ... and it's something the reality superstar said he'll never forget.

"Saint walking Messi out on the field tonight at the La Galaxy vs Inter Miami game!!!" Kim said after posting video of the walkout on X. "He is living the absolute dream!"

It's unclear if Messi chatted with the youngin at all ... but he looked happy with the company as he looked down at him.

The two seem to be getting pretty familiar with each other now -- as it's at least the second time they've crossed paths.

Back in July 2023, Kim shared a pic of her futbol-loving son with Messi after his Inter Miami debut ... which she dubbed the "Best day of their entire lives."

David Beckham and Marc Anthony's bromance just got a whole lot tighter ... the former soccer superstar surprised his good pal at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony Thursday -- and gave a super emotional speech.

The Inter Miami owner hid in the wings as Anthony was about to be introduced at the event ... and just before the singer's star was unveiled on the famous strip of sidewalk in Los Angeles, Beckham appeared.

Anthony was fired up to see his close friend -- and shared not one, but two long embraces with the ex-footballer.

Then, Beckham got up to the podium ... and gushed about Anthony.

Beckham revealed he used to listen to Anthony's music before every one of his Real Madrid games. He also told the crowd in attendance he learned how to salsa dance because of Anthony.

"Today, Marc," Beckham said into the microphone, "we celebrate you and everything you mean to all of us and to all of your fans around the world."

At one point, after telling Anthony he loved him, Beckham paused his speech and said, "I'm getting emotional."

The guys then shared another hug after Beckham wrapped ... before Anthony -- the godfather of Beckham's son, Cruz -- received his star.

The two are no strangers to putting their affection for each other on public display ... ever since they became friends a couple decades ago, they've shared big moments together -- including back in July, when Beckham met Anthony's newborn child.

Dodgers star Julio Urias was arrested Sunday night for felony domestic violence in Los Angeles, TMZ Sports has learned.

Details surrounding the arrest are not currently clear ... but we know the 27-year-old starting pitcher was taken into custody at the LAFC vs. Inter Miami game (he was there to watch Lionel Messi) just after 11 PM, and transported to an LAPD jail, where he was booked around 1 AM.

Urias was listed at 6'1 and 240 lbs. on his jail booking sheet.

Bond was set at $50K ... and after 4 hours behind bars, Urias -- who is earning over $14 million this season -- posted and was released around 5 AM Monday morning.

It's not the first time Julio has been arrested for domestic violence. Back in May 2019, Urias was involved in an alleged incident at the Beverly Center mall in Beverly Hills. Urias was accused of pushing a woman he was with, however, the alleged victim told investigators she simply fell.

Ultimately, prosecutors did not charge Urias with a crime. Still, Urias was suspended 20 games by MLB for violating their Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy.

Urias, who will be a free agent after this season, last pitched for the Dodgers on Friday, September 1 ... a subpar outing for him, giving up 5 earned runs in 5 innings of work.

Julio, who won a World Series in 2020, has a court date scheduled for later this month.

Story developing ...

Hollywood's elite came out in force Sunday night to watch soccer star Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team go up against the Los Angeles Football Club.

Will Ferrell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Tom Holland, David Beckham, Selena Gomez, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis were all on hand to enjoy the match-up at BMO Stadium in LA.

Oh, and some royalty showed up too ... Prince Harry was seen smiling from ear to ear as he took in the Major League Soccer game, but his wife, Meghan Markle, was MIA.

Harry was sitting in a box seat near Ferrell (co-owner of LAFC), DiCaprio, and the other famous faces in the crowd. At one point, Harry appeared giddy while tightly gripping his LAFC scarf, leaving no doubt which team he was rooting for.

Lionel Messi was back on the pitch in Florida for the first time in nearly a month Wednesday night ... and, as has become tradition, celebs flocked to see him -- including Floyd Mayweather and Alix Earle, who got VIP treatment at the game.

The new MLS superstar had maybe his quietest night since joining Inter Miami -- scoring zero goals in a 0-0 tie against Nashville SC -- but A-listers were spotted throughout DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale enjoying the GOAT in action nonetheless.

Mayweather and Earle, flanked by NFL superstar Jaylen Waddle, got prime seats and field access as guests of Miami mogul David Grutman.

Ken Griffey Jr. even showed up too ... though he chose to grab a media credential instead of suite seats -- opting to shoot the game with his camera instead of rubbin' elbows in the stands with the stars.

At one point, however, the MLB legend was able to link up with Mayweather -- who was also with friend Lionel Khoury -- sharing an embrace with the boxer and getting in a pic.

Unclear how much facetime all of the celebrities got with Messi -- the soccer player was, after all, busy trying to scrape out another win for his squad -- but everyone was grinning ear-to-ear throughout the night nonetheless.

They'll all have to wait a bit to do it again -- Messi's not set to play in Ft. Lauderdale 'til Sept. 9 now -- unless, of course, they want to fly out to Los Angeles this weekend to see him vs. LAFC.

While Lionel Messi was dazzling on the field on Sunday night, one of his supporters was throwing haymakers in a wild brawl in the stands ... and the fight was all captured on video.

The crazy scuffle happened at some point during Inter Miami's game against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas ... when one Lionel fan apparently got so enraged with some Dallas supporters, he decided to throw fists.

You can see in footage shot by a bystander, the man wearing Messi's Argentina No. 10 jersey whaled on one FC Dallas fan over and over again ... while two others got into a mixup nearby.

Eventually, three of the men involved in the altercation spilled onto the ground after a big takedown from the Messi fan.

No word on how the fracas was ultimately broken up -- though a spokesperson for the Frisco Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports one arrest was made.

The guys missed a hell of a performance by Messi amid their tiff ... 'cause the 36-year-old -- who just made his MLS debut last month -- scored two goals and made a penalty kick in a shootout to help give his team a come-from-behind 4-4 win.

It may have been raining cats and dogs in Utah, but one furry creature literally fell from the sky at a recent Real Salt Lake MLS game ... 'cause a raccoon came crashing down into the press box!!

The wild moment happened at the RSL vs. Club Leon match that was slated to go down on Thursday ... and during a weather delay, a hole formed in the ceiling above the journalists.

All of a sudden, a trash panda dropped into the room outta nowhere ... and the scene from inside was quite hectic.

A local reporter shared a clip from the madness -- apparently, the critter was hungry ... 'cause it made a mad dash for the popcorn machine as soon as it landed in the press box.

Eventually, the raccoon made its way to the concourse at America First Field ... where it got held up on a second-floor overhang as stadium workers used a broom to try and catch it.

The raccoon crawled it's way up toward safety ... but as it reached the top of the railing, the curious creature slipped and plummeted to the floor.

Fans chased after the raccoon on the ground level ... with the procyonid showing off some shifty speed before it was eventually captured.

Folks on the scene say the raccoon was released at a nearby creek.

Kim Kardashian is taking her soccer mom game to the next level ... bringing son Saint with her to Lionel Messi's first game with his new Major League Soccer club.

Kim and Saint are among the celebs in the house for Messi's debut with Inter Miami ... she says they're there to support Saint's passion for soccer, and root on his favorite player, Messi.

Remember ... Kim and Saint have been to soccer games around the world this year, we saw them back in March at a match in Paris.

Kim and Saint are seeing some familiar faces at the game ... because Tristan Thompson is also in the house.

Serena Williams made sure to catch Messi's first game ... and LeBron James did too, even sharing a moment with the soccer star before the game.

Messi's new Inter Miami team is playing Mexican club Cruz Azul at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale ... and he's coming off the bench and expected to play the last 30 minutes.

Yo Gotti's co-ownership of MLS soccer team D.C. United has opened new doors for the "Rake It Up" rapper ... making a trip to the White House to hang with the First Lady!!!

The CMG boss kicked off his MLS All-Star Week on the South Lawn of the White House Monday as an invited guest. Gotti was part of a youth soccer clinic designed to raise awareness for the sport with future generations.

Sources tell TMZ Hip Hop that Gotti and Jill Biden had a great chitchat on the South Lawn about his own children's growing love for soccer ... and he connected with officials from the Biden-Harris Administration throughout the day.

Gotti joined D.C. United in 2021 and has been proactive in ingraining himself in the soccer community.

We're told he'll be joining the TV booth for the MLS All-Star Game later this evening, as 2 D.C. United players and their coach Wayne Rooney are on the roster.

A bunch of rain couldn't kill Lionel Messi's vibe at his big Inter Miami introduction on Sunday -- the soccer superstar was happy as ever as he made his grand entrance with his new team.

The lavish celebration was delayed two hours due to a pestering thunderstorm ... but there was no way the thousands of fans at DRV PNK Stadium were going to miss out on seeing the Argentinian striker's first appearance with the MLS club.

Messi cracked a joke about the downpour while addressing the crowd .. saying, "Tonight, we’re doing this Miami-style in the rain. This is holy water!!"

He also got serious during his speech ... saying he's thankful for all the local fans giving him a warm welcome ever since he touched down in the States.

"Truthfully, I'm very excited, very happy to be here in Miami and be with you," Messi said. "I'm eager to start training and to compete. I come here with the same desire to compete, desire to win and help the club to continue to grow."

Messi -- who's reported to make up to $150 million overall during his time with Inter Miami -- also doubled down on his decision to venture to MLS ... saying it's going to be a positive experience for both sides.

Team owner David Beckham also took the mic to share a few words ... saying it's a "dream come true" to have Messi join the family.

Inter Miami goalkeeper Nick Marsman -- who's slated to be teammates with Lionel Messi later this summer -- was attacked by a spider at a zoo recently ... and the bite was apparently so bad, the soccer player had to spend several days in the hospital.

Marsman's wife, Nathalie den Dekker, explained the scary situation in a series of Instagram posts this week ... saying the 32-year-old was in a medical facility for three days after a poisonous arachnid sunk its teeth into him.

Thankfully, though, she said he's been released ... and is now home recovering.

"Happy to have you back home," den Dekker said in one of her posts. "Now get well soon."

It's unclear how much time the MLS goalie -- who's Inter Miami's primary backup behind Drake Callender -- will need to miss while he regains his strength.