The Inter of Miami has not put the name of Lionel Messi in the official announcement of The Unveil (something like ‘The revelation’), the event that takes place this Sunday at the DRV PNK stadium in Fort Lauderdale (Florida). Needless. The presentation of the Argentine star is the most anticipated event for soccer fans and especially in South Florida, where the messimania that has been unleashed since his signing was known on June 7 is triggered and, sometimes, even crazy.
the fever for The flea it is total in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale area, where more than 100,000 of the approximately 300,000 Argentines residing in the United States live. And the mayor of Miami Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, hopes that Miami, known as “the capital of Latin America”, will now also be ratified as “the soccer capital of the United States.”
In The Knife restaurant they have created the Messi mojito. A local brewery now distributes cans with the number ten and the colors pink and black, those of the club where he will meet again with Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino and his Barça teammate Sergio Busquets. Another Argentinian venue, Karnitas 71st, has begun serving a Milanese baptized Mila Messi. And the soccer player’s favorite dish, or at least his breaded style, has also made its way into the new sandwich that the footballer himself launched on Wednesday with the Hard Rock chain to celebrate his arrival in the American league MLS.
The streets are full of Messi. More, and larger ones, have been added to the mural that the Fiorito restaurant dedicated to him since 2018, such as a giant one made in the hip Wynwood neighborhood by the artist Maximiliano Bagnasco, where he was watching from a crane how David Beckham was given the last touches , one of the owners of Inter. And there, too, the fans now take pictures in front of Arlex Campos, who has painted the brand new world champion with a shirt where the albiceleste is mutating to pink.
Each step, an event
Each of Messi’s steps has become an informational, viral and fan phenomenon since he landed on Tuesday in a private plane in South Florida, where he owns four apartments, including two in luxurious towers in Sunny Isles, 17 kilometers north of Miami Beach and 26 kilometers south of what will be its new stadium.
It happened on Wednesday, when hours after visiting a training for the first time, he went with his family to have dinner at the Argentine restaurant Café Prima Pasta in the Little Buenos Aires neighborhood. And although they left through the back door, he did not avoid meeting the fans and even a stolen kiss.
Lionel Messi, Antonela, the boys and their first night out since joining Inter Miami eating at Prima Pasta, which is in North Beach and an area known as Little Buenos Aires, hence the Argentinian accents in the background (vía mi colega @estebanedul) pic.twitter.com/boN3FchBP7
— Luis Miguel Echegaray (@lmechegaray) July 13, 2023
And it happened again on Thursday, where he went with his wife, Antonela Rocuzzo, and their three children, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, to do the shopping in a supermarket. It has even been analyzed which cereals they eat for breakfast.
“Prepared and eager”
Everything at the moment seems calmer than in Argentina, Barcelona or Paris. And days before starting his new stage, Messi assured in an interview with the Argentine television program ‘Llave a eternidad’ that he and his family are “happy” with the decision they made, “prepared and eager to face the new challenge, the new change”.
In these statements, the seven-time Ballon d’Or player promised that his mentality and his head are not going to change. “I’m going to try to do my best for myself and my new club, to continue playing at the highest level,” said Messi, who is expected to take part in a press conference on Monday and in a training session open to the public on Tuesday.
His arrival, in any case, is already like manna for Inter, that the contract has not yet been made official or its details public, although the Sportico portal has advanced that it will be two and a half years and a total of 150 million dollars in salary, a bonus and a share in the team (to which are also added shares in Apple and Adidas).
The expectation for his debut on the field, scheduled for the 21st in a match against the Blue Cross Mexican in the Leagues Cup, has skyrocketed the price of tickets, still available but with resale prices starting at $200 and reaching (and exceeding) $10,000. not bad for a team that hasn’t won a game since May 13.
Stands with 3,200 seats have been added to a stadium that never filled its capacity of 18,000. And since the announcement on June 7, the club’s followers on social networks have skyrocketed and the Instagram account, for example, has grown by 750% and is already the fifth sports franchise with the most followers after four NBA teams (Bulls , Cavaliers, Lakers and Warriors).
The Inter Instagram account has grown by 750% and is the fifth franchise with the most followers after four NBA clubs.
The one from Rosario is, without a doubt, seen as a “Messiah”, and not only for Miami, but for the US MLS league and for soccer in the US, one of the countries that will host the World Cup in 2026. Jorge Mas, Another of the owners of his new club has said that “there will always be a before and after when we talk about sport in the US.” And Andrés Cantor, a popular soccer commentator, explained on ESPN that “US soccer and the MLS league in particular are suddenly going to have global appeal because they have the best player in the world.”
Welcome. pic.twitter.com/sdgCtJ0nGp
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 14, 2023
It is undoubtedly what Apple, the technology mastodon that in June of last year took over a decade of the global rights of the MLS in exchange for 2,500 million dollars, and that will give Messi a share of the benefits for new subscriptions to your season pass on Apple TV+.
2023-07-16 07:11:30
#INTER #MIAMI #Messimania #breaks #Florida
