Nashville midfielder Dax McCarty jokes ‘the night wasn’t a total loss’ as he poses with Lionel Messi’s jersey after Leagues Cup defeat

Nashville midfielder Dax McCarty jokes ‘night wasn’t a total loss’ as he poses with Lionel Messi’s shirt after Leagues Cup defeat

Nashville SC midfielder Dax McCarty joked that he still had a small victory on Saturday night when he posed with Lionel Messi’s jersey.

McCarty and Nashville suffered a heartbreaking loss to Inter Miami on penalties in the Leagues Cup final on Saturday, but he took to social media to claim that ‘the evening was not a total loss’.

McCarty posted a photo of him holding Messi’s jersey of the match as he posed with two thumbs up and a smile, revealing that he beat his teammates to the honor of taking home the victorious World Cup winner’s jersey .

McCarty’s wife Jen also chimed in, posting the same photo and responding to a fan who bizarrely claimed that the sweater worn by the game smelled like cologne.

“We smelled it,” Jen captioned the photo. “It smells like he’s sweating pure cologne.”

Messi and Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup final

Nashville SC midfielder Dax McCarty joked he still had a small win on Saturday night as he posed with Lionel Messi’s shirt after his side lost to Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final

Messi received awards for being the first goalscorer and best player of the Leagues Cup

Messi received awards for being the first goalscorer and best player of the Leagues Cup

McCarty's wife Jen claimed on Twitter that the jersey smelled like Messi was 'sweating tight cologne'

McCarty’s wife Jen claimed on Twitter that the jersey smelled like Messi was ‘sweating tight cologne’

McCarty and his teammates had put up an intense battle where they turned up the pressure on Inter Miami for spells throughout the game before finally losing 10-9 on penalties.

The 36-year-old McCarty played 27 games for Nashville this season and has two assists so far.

A true MLS veteran, he has made nearly 489 appearances in the U.S. major league and playoffs during a career that saw him play for the Chicago Fire, Nashville, DC United and the New York Red Bulls.

While McCarty may appear to be all smiles after narrowly missing out on Nashville’s first-ever trophy, he’ll quickly turn his attention to the chance to chase another trophy.

On August 26, Nashville resumes the MLS regular season against Atlanta United.

Nashville currently ranks fourth in the MLS Eastern Conference with an 11-5-8 record in 38 points.