When Lionel Messi was introduced to Inter Miami fans on July 16, he offered a mission statement of sorts.
‘I come here with the same desire to compete, desire to win and help the club continue to grow,’ he said.
On the back of his World Cup triumph with Argentina in Qatar – in which he was named the player of the tournament at the ripe age of 35 – that vow has certainly been kept.
In the five-and-a-half months since Messi arrived in Miami, the club has won its first silverware, drawn the likes of LeBron James and Kim Kardashian to the club’s home in Fort Lauderdale and surpassed many of its American sports peers on social media.
There have been lighter moments too, like when the Argentine and his family took a (heavily-photographed) trip to supermarket Publix, either unaware of the attention it would bring or simply unbothered by it.
And while we never got the answer to what Messi likes on his ‘Pub Sub,’ we did find out what an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner looks like in America.
On his debut off the bench vs. Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, he scored a winning free kick straight out of an extremely predictable movie script to give his team a 2-1 win.
