How was Messi's first month at Inter Miami

Former player David Beckham stressed that Messi joining Inter Miami was a "dream come true", and was proud when the Argentine superstar chose the club to play for in the next phase of his career. The England legend, who is also a co-owner of Inter Miami, hopes these players will inspire the next generation and help build a legacy in American football.

Then, the moment that the fans were waiting for also arrived - Messi waved and walked to the position where the club's owners were waiting. The owner of the seven Golden Balls spoke and thanked the fans, new teammates as well as the Inter Miami leadership for the grand welcome. At the end of the speech, Messi held the number 10 shirt to take pictures with the club's co-owners, Jorde Mas, Jose Mas and David Beckham.

Since then, Messi has not appeared in public much, other than joining the Beckham family and Sergio Busquets for dinner at the restaurant, owned by singers Bad Bunny and David Grutman. In another, in early July, fans saw the Argentinian player and his family leave the Cafe Prima Pasta restaurant through the back door.

Miami and the US give Messi something he has never experienced during his time in Barcelona and Paris: privacy. Many players see this as the main reason to move to MLS. England legend Steven Gerrard once said he cherished being able to walk on the beach in Los Angeles with his family, after spending his entire top-flight career with Liverpool.

In an interview early last month, Messi said he wanted to be normal, find a place where he could stay out of the spotlight because football is not the number one sport in America. Miami is home to more than 100,000 Argentinians, and most of them speak Spanish.

Of course, Messi does not have that luxury, when he is famous on another level and is accompanied by bodyguards everywhere. The Argentine star can sometimes enjoy trips like going to a Publix supermarket, but will never be able to live like a normal person.

Relations between the parties were also strained after Messi went to Saudi Arabia to promote tourism in early May. Messi planned this in advance, but PSG forced the players to practice right after the defeat to Lorient in Ligue I. Messi posted an apology video after the trip, saying it had been postponed once and couldn't do anything else.

During his first press conference in the US as an Inter Miami player on August 18, Messi admitted he had never wanted to go to PSG and only chose the Paris capital club when he could not renew with Barca. The 36-year-old star also said that he chose to come to Miami for his family, not just for sports. "Moving from Barca to PSG is relatively complicated, and from PSG to Miami is much easier," he commented. "I come here not only to play football, but also for my daily activities with my family."

Inter Miami defender DeAndre Yedlin revealed teammate Leonardo Campana messaged the team's WhatsApp group to ask for tickets and was answered by Messi himself. "I didn't even know Messi was added to the group, but he immediately asked Campana how many tickets he needed," Yedlin said. "It took me by surprise, as Messi had only known Campana for about three days, and it was a wonderful new example of Messi's generosity."

Messi has a close relationship with Jordi Alba and Busquets since his time at Barca, but seems to integrate, building relationships with less famous teammates. He even gave each teammate a pair of Inter Miami's iconic pink and black Beats by Dre headphones, currently priced at $4,000 each.

Basketball star LeBron James, supermodel Kim Kardashian or former tennis player Serena Williams all attended Messi's debut match against Cruz Azul. They all admired, and Beckham choked and moved back to hug his wife Victoria when rookie Inter Miami set up a super free kick in injury time.

The fever didn't stop there. Messi walks out with DJ Khaled's son, Asahd, against Atlanta United. Former NFL star Tony Romo appeared in Dallas, or music stars Marc Anthony, Diddy, Rick Ross were all caught admiring the Argentine player.

Since coming to Inter Miami, Messi has favored his compatriots. Thiago Almada - a member of the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup - received the captain's shirt after losing to Inter Miami with Atlanta United. Then were Alan Velasco and Julian Carranza respectively at the close of the matches of FC Dallas and Philadelphia Union.

Meanwhile, Cruz Azul's Carlos Rotondi received Messi's shirt thanks to his close friendship with Lisandro Martinez - Messi's teammate on the national team - in addition to playing for Newell's Old Boys.

Some say the Argentinian star has either been paid by Marvel or hinted at a future project he could be involved in. However, Messi revealed that the celebrations following the Marvel characters are for the children.

"My three sons are still on summer break, the new school year hasn't started yet, so we watch Marvel superhero movies every night," Messi told a press conference on August 18. "They came up with ideas and suggested that when I score in the game, celebrate with these heroes. That's how it started and we continued that ritual. Every time my father and I watched a movie. , we will practice a kind of goal celebration."

The 2022 World Cup champion gives Inter Miami the opportunity to win its first title when the Leagues Cup final kicks off at 8:00 a.m. on August 20, Hanoi time, on Nashville SC's Geodis Park. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators.

Messi is with Dani Alves holding the record of winning 43 collective titles. If he wins the Leagues Cup, the 36-year-old striker will set a new record. Previously, in the 2022-2023 season, he had three titles: Ligue 1, French Super Cup with PSG and World Cup 2022 with Argentina.