Lionel Messi and his son Thiago at Inter Miami presentation (AP)
Lionel Messi was waving to the crowd at his Inter Miami unveiling when Thiago took up a chance to pull off a nutmeg on his dad.
When Lionel Messi received a grand welcome from a sea of Inter Miami fans at the DRV PNK Stadium on July 16, his son Thiago could steal the show for a brief moment. After being officially unveiled by the MLS club, Messi took aspotlight-lined stroll around the field, soaking up the excitement of over 20,000 fans. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was enjoying every bit of the electric atmosphere when Thiago took up a chance to pull off a nutmeg on his dad. The 10-year-old tried to roll a ball through the legs of Messi and succeeded in his attempt. Messi was evidently unaware of the event as he surprisingly looked back at Thiago, who was celebrating the nutmeg. Then the father-son duo went on to exchange a hearty smile. A clip of Thiago’s cheeky nutmeg was shared on Twitter, becoming viral in no time.
Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami has remained in the headlines since the Argentine footballer revealed his plans to join the MLS club. Messi joined Miami as a free agent after his contract with former club Paris Saint Germain expired on June 30. American football fans, who were eager to see Messi in the Miami shirt, finally got the chance on Sunday when the club officially unveiled the footballer. Rain played a spoilsport at the glittery event. But it could hardly make an impact on the enthusiastic crowd.
David Beckham and his fellow Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas were present at the stadium. They handed the iconic No 10 shirt to Lionel Messi. Another new recruit, Sergio Busquets, was also unveiled there. After all the formalities were done, Messi addressed the Miami fan base, expressing his excitement to begin a new journey in American football.
“I am very happy to have chosen to come to this city with my family and to have chosen this project. I have no doubt that we are going to enjoy it very much. We are going to have a good time and great things are going to happen. I can’t wait to start training to compete,” Messi said, as quoted by Reuters. The World Cup-winning forward will make his debut for Inter Miami on July 21 in a Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul.