Lionel Messi’s Much-Awaited Debut for Inter Miami CF Comes With a Burger and a Beer

Since Lionel Messi touched down at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport last week, “Messi Mania” has overtaken South Florida.

Messi, the most famous soccer player in the world, will make his much-anticipated debut for Inter Miami CF on Friday night (8 p.m. ET on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, and Univision in Spanish), as his new club hosts Cruz Azul of Liga MX in the Leagues Cup.

This will mark the culmination of what has been a hectic, and unprecedented, time. Murals of the Argentinian superstar have popped up in Wynwood, the arts district of Miami. One, next to Veza Sur Brewing Co. on NW 25th Street, is part of a street defined by art, with stores across the street featuring various murals of their own. Chris Moramarco, co-founder of Vice City 1896, the group that painted the mural, told the Miami Herald that the goal for the mural was to create something that could be in a Latin American soccer stadium.

Some local restaurants are offering the “Lionel Messi combo” (a burger and a drink) to customers. Argentinian market Graziano’s Mercado on South Dixie Highway in Coral Gables, a residential city roughly 30 minutes from downtown Miami, is one of many restaurants offering a Messi-themed beer. Along with staples such as chorizo, prosciutto and smoked salmon, you can buy a Messi beer from Prison Pals Brewing Co., served in a pink can with the No. 10 and the acronym “GOAT” on it.

The newest member of Inter Miami CF was even spotted in a Fort Lauderdale Publix on Thursday, casually buying groceries with his family.

Then, there was the “Unveil” event on Sunday. In front of a sold-out DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was introduced as a member of the franchise for the first time. Despite inclement weather delaying the event by two hours, fans turned out in droves to catch a glimpse of Messi.

Fanfare around the arrival of sports stars has enveloped South Florida in the past, to be sure.

In just the past 20 years, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Jimmy Butler have joined the Miami Heat, with the raucous 2010 celebration inside then-American Airlines Arena for the recently signed James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade still fresh.

But this is soccer, the most popular sport in the world. And this is Messi, one of arguably the two greatest players, along with Pelé, in the history of that sport.

Now reality sets in. Messi may be 36, but he is still one of the top players in the world. Yet even with Messi, former Barcelona defending midfielder Sergio Busquets, former Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba and former Barcelona head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino on the sidelines, Inter Miami faces an uphill climb to the postseason.

The club is last in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference with 18 points, 11 points shy of D.C. United for the No. 9 seed and final wild-card spot. Just 12 regular season games remain, making it a serious challenge for Inter Miami to even become relevant in the wild-card chase.

However, it is a challenge that Messi, who has accomplished everything there is to accomplish in the sport, is prepared for.

“I am eager to start training and competing,” Messi said at the unveiling. “I always want to win and want to help the club grow, and I have no doubt me and my teammates will do everything we can to reach our objectives. I am happy to have selected this city to come to, and to have picked this project. We are going to share many beautiful moments together.”