Lionel Messi, a FIFA World Cup and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, had returned to Paris after steering Argentina to the pinnacle of football after 36 years.
There was a guard of honour from the players and a light-hearted banter with former Barcelona teammate Neymar, but then began the nightmare.
The 36-year-old was booed at every touch of the ball by the Paris Saint-Germain fans — his own club. Thousands jeered at the Argentine, the slurs and abuses getting nastier and louder whenever he went to take corner kicks.
Within a month, Messi had a new jersey, a new team and a stadium full of fans chanting his name as he wove his magic. And on Saturday night, in front of a packed Geodis Park in Nashville, he found the net and led his team to victory in the inaugural edition of the Leagues Cup 2023. Inter Miami pipped Nashville 10-9 in sudden-death.
His teammates tossed Messi in the air as a wave of Miami fans sang his name. He even took out his captain’s armband and gave it to DeAndre Yedlin, who had been the skipper before him. It was truly a grand gesture from the Argentine whose Parisian nightmare had turned into a Miami dream.
“It’s beautiful how the Inter people come to the matches to support us. The stadium is always full when we play at home,” he said.
“We played in Dallas the other day. The people there welcomed and embraced me. I’m grateful and happy for the moment I’m living in and, especially, because I’m enjoying playing. That’s what I liked all my life and to do it this way is satisfying.”
“It’s beautiful how the Miami people come to the matches to support us. The stadium is always full when we play at home”Messi
Messi left Barcelona in tears in 2021 as the club plunged into a financial crisis, flying to Paris on a two-year contract. Though he won three major titles at the Ligue 1 club (two league titles and one French Super Cup), the Parc des Princes could never be his colosseum and neither could he be their King.
Messi revealed that the move to the French capital was never planned. “I did not want to join PSG. It was neither planned nor desired. That was decided overnight,” he said.
“I wanted to stay in Barcelona but I had to go and get used to a different place very quickly — a place very different from the one I had lived, in terms of the city and the sport. It was difficult.
“But now, it’s quite the opposite here. I took many things into consideration before arriving at a decision. We thought it over with my wife and my sons also involved in it. I am here just to play, to continue enjoying football, which I have loved all my life.”
Flashes of Pele in Cosmos
Messi’s move to the MLS has flashes of another football legend — Pele.
The Brazilian, another FIFA World Cup winner from South America, joined a North American side — the New York Cosmos — in 1974 and boosted the popularity of the sport in the continent.
Pele did not just help the team bag the Soccer Bowl (1977) but also inspired more global stars to take the flight to the United States, with World Cup winners Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer the big names who joined him.
The first leg of the Soccer Bowl quarterfinals, featuring Pele, saw an attendance of 77,891 — a record then.
The arrival of Messi also saw Inter Miami sign FIFA World Cup Sergio Busquets and former Barca player Jordi Alba. And the Argentine’s second goal for Miami against Atlanta United became one of the most-watched live events in the history of the USA, attracting a viewership of 3.4 billion.
“Ever since I arrived, the welcome has been impressive. It’s a city with many Latinos, and that’s why everything is easier. The Latinos are much closer, much more demonstrative, always showing affection and closeness,” said Messi. “I think that is the most important, the healthiest and the most beautiful thing in order to settle in and enjoy what you do.”
Just like Pele’s fairytale with the Cosmos in the Soccer Bowl 46 years ago, Messi secured a trophy for Miami — its first silverware since inception five years ago.
Miami’s new dawn
When Messi moved from PSG to Miami, his fans were left bamboozled by the choice given the difference in positions between PSG and his new destination.
PSG was the defending Ligue 1 champion while Miami was languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with no wins in its last 10 games.
More than just a month later, it has beaten Orlando City, FC Dallas and Charlotte FC in the Leagues Cup knockouts, and outlasted Nashville in the final to earn its maiden trophy.
Messi has been at the cynosure, scoring goals and orchestrating attacks. The wizard has 10 goals in seven games and has found the target in every game he has played.
“From the very start of this competition, we knew we had to start from zero with a new coach and new players joining the team such as myself. From day one, we are doing very well,” Messi said.
“It was an opportunity to start changing things after the last result (a 0-3 loss to St. Louis before my arrival) and how the team was in the league.”
According to Messi, the appointment of Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino as head coach has helped a lot. Martino is a legend at Messi’s boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys and has also managed the Argentine at Barcelona, winning the Spanish Super Cup in 2013.
“We played competitive Mexican teams from Liga MX. It’s a very tough league with quality players. We had to take the opportunity to continue growing,” said Messi, elaborating on the Leagues Cup which witnessed Mexican sides face MLS in its inaugural edition.
Nashville sat 11 spots above Messi’s side in the MLS, but with the Argentine at the forefront of Miami’s moves, it couldn’t dictate terms and eventually lost the plot in sudden-death.
“We want to be a point of reference and winning a title would help a lot in that. It is a very young club, and to win our first title is great for all of us,” Messi said.
THE GIST
Though Messi is no more in Barcelona colours, he is not a Parisian either. The mention of both clubs has ‘complicado’ attached to it: complicated is the simple translation. For Miami, it’s just ‘facil’, meaning easy.
The veteran from the town of Rosario has had a tumultuous few years in Europe. But Messi has finally found peace — on the field with the ball at his feet and off it among fans who have showered love and affection. And now with a trophy in his hands, Messi 2.0 has started in the unlikeliest of places — Miami.
