Arguably one of the greatest soccer players in the history of the sport has made his way over to the United States of America is Lionel Messi of course. The 36-year-old global icon finalized a deal with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF on the 16th of July, 2023. He stands to become not just the highest-paid MLS player but also the highest-paid athlete on American soil, with his base salary looking to be $55 million per year.
Messi’s arrival to America has been highly anticipated by the entire sporting world, considering the magnitude of fans he possesses and his general gravitas on and off the pitch. This includes celebrities as well, as evidenced by the star-studded turnout for his debut game with Miami. David Beckham, Becky G, Serena Williams, and Kim Kardashian were all in attendance for the friendly match against Cruz Azul. However, one man stood out amongst the crowd of personalities.
Another widely considered GOAT, LeBron James was on the sideline to watch Lionel Messi nail a last-second free kick to bring Inter Miami the victory. James himself shares as much of his sport’s reverence as Lionel does to his own but due to soccer’s bigger international appeal, it seems for once James was happy to be the fan and not be the one under the limelight.
Fans react to Lionel Messi and LeBron James’ interaction
It seems LeBron couldn’t resist having a chat with his fellow GOAT after the match and pulled Messi aside into a big embrace while expressing his adoration for his performance. There were reports that the Argentine native was unable to speak English, but those were debunked by Messi himself when he told a reporter that he had been learning English before joining PSG.
Goat talk pic.twitter.com/D06Clim714
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 22, 2023
Fans were very curious on Twitter, as to what LeBron may be telling Lionel during their short chat. It seems to be mostly a heartfelt congratulations on his spectacular debut and maybe even a welcome to the United States of America. Fans also joked about LeBron maybe employing his non-existent Spanish skills to converse with the 7x Ballon d’Or winner, “Just imagined LeBron trying to speak to Messi in Spanish.”
Just imagined Lebron trying to speak to Messi in Spanish 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ujsh2hrHBR
— MC (@CrewsMat10) July 22, 2023
messi : says something in spanish
lebron: “that’s my favorite saying”
— unfunnyjulia (@unfunnyjulia) July 22, 2023
While we may never know exactly what the two spoke about, we do know that this may be a budding friendship in the making. Two of the greatest players of all time in their respective fields and they don’t look to be slowing down in any sense.
We can look forward to more of these post-game chats and maybe even a full-blown interview between the two, where they share their collective experiences as being regarded so highly by millions of people around the world.
