Lionel Messi left for excited Miami

miami –

A burger and drink combination called the Lionel Messi. A huge sketch of the football star’s smiling face on a restaurant wall next to a viral meme from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A beer with a pink label to match the color of the Inter Miami shirt he will be wearing.

Wherever you go in Miami these days, something reminds you of the arrival of the Argentine soccer legend.

The euphoria that Messi generated in Miami cannot be hidden as he embarks on the new Major League Soccer stage of his career in one of the most Latino cities in the United States. But his arrival also brings a touch of sadness as fans know that at 36 years old he is nearing the end of his career.

Messi announced on June 7 that he will play for Inter Miami in a move that is expected to revitalize football in the United States and South Florida with one of the best-known figures in the world. More than 100,000 Argentines live in Miami, where World Cup matches will be played in 2026.

The seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, the world’s most prestigious individual award, will be released from Paris Saint-Germain for two years and is expected to make his Inter Miami debut against Mexican team Cruz Azul on July 21.

In a career spanning more than 17 years with his country’s national team, Messi has scored more than 100 goals, including two against France at the 2022 World Cup, a game Argentina won on penalties.

“I love that he’s in Miami because my kids get to experience him the way I experienced Maradona (fellow Argentina soccer player Diego),” says Maximiliano Alvarez, one of the owners of the Fiorito restaurant, where one wall features a giant mural. has from Messi. “It also makes me sad, nostalgic, because it seems that this is the beginning of his retirement.”

“Coming to this league is not the same as playing in the European league,” said the Argentine businessman.

Alvarez and his brother Cristian had the original mural of Messi’s face painted in the restaurant in 2018, when many people criticized the football star for his role in the poor performance of the Argentina national team. His idea was to honor him and never give up on the resilience he brings.

In 2021, they renovated the restaurant in Northeast Miami’s Little Haiti with another mural of Messi on the same wall, this one by Chilean-American artist Claudio Picasso.

On the walls of another restaurant called Kao Bar & Grill, in the Hallandale Beach area north of Miami Beach, Messi’s meme “┬íAnda pa’ alla bobo!” “Go there, fool!” has been immortalized together with a giant drawing of the football star.

Angry after Argentina’s heated victory over the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, Messi said those words to a Dutch player who passed by while being interviewed.

Messi, who is known for his calm and careful speaking style, regretted the comment, which immediately went viral.

“Of course he was sorry, but it was a joke,” says Augusto Falopapas, the artist who drew the meme on the wall of the restaurant.

To the south, in the Wynwood district, an area near downtown Miami known for its warehouses-turned-art galleries, other artists have created murals of Messi. There are two giant images of the player, one with a smiling face, the other running with him as if he were in a game. And there are plans for more, including a 10-meter-tall (32-foot-tall) mural of Messi kissing the World Cup in an open parking lot.

Messi’s arrival has also influenced breweries such as Prison Pals Brewing Co., which sells a beer with Messi’s number 10. The can is painted pink with black lettering, a replica of Inter Miami’s colors.

The Argentinian grill The Knife offers a Messi mojito and the Hard Rock Cafe is launching a new “Messi Chicken Sandwich” made from the football star’s favorite “milanesas”. Messi t-shirts, pants, hooded sweatshirts and water bottles will also be on sale.

“When we found out he decided to choose Miami as his South Florida home, it was incredible for us,” said Elena Alvarez, vice president of worldwide sales for Hard Rock International. “We’re very, very grateful and we have him as a brand ambassador and we’re launching (the new sandwich) at the same time as he moves here.”

Near Miami Beach, in Cafe Ragazzi by the Argentinian-Venezuelan singer-songwriter Ricardo Montaner, they welcome his return.

Messi was there on vacation after winning the 2021 America’s Cup with Argentina. The star caused a stir at the restaurant when fans came to greet him, forcing staff, including waiters and kitchen staff, to form a wall around him to protect him and let him go to his car.

Now they want to give the football legend more privacy and are thinking about hanging curtains.

Emiliano Valdes, general manager of the café, said: “He is revolutionizing the whole city”, and that Miami welcomes Messi “with open arms”.