Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the greatest player ever in the game of soccer. The little genius from Argentina, as many might call him, has won just about everything there is to win in the game of soccer.
His career which started as a youth prospect at Barcelona witnessed him influence the lives of millions around the world who tune in to watch his brilliance. Messi is currently tied to Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer, having joined the club in 2023.
The 36-year-old has spent most of his soccer career playing for Barcelona in Spain. Consequently, Spanish has been his go-to language over the years. The soccer community, however, has always expressed their curiosity about experiencing Messi having a go at trying the English language. Fortunately for them, their hero has given them the privilege of witnessing Messi speaking English on multiple occasions.
Messi’s appearance in ‘Bad Boys’ promo
Ever since his move to the United States, Lionel Messi has been captured meeting several American celebrities. Recently, in a promotional campaign for the third movie in the Bad Boys franchise, Messi was seen in a promo with Hollywood stars, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. “Bad Boys?”, Messi was spotted asking Smith and Lawrence.
Amusingly, in the promo, the actors told the soccer legend that he was at the wrong house and that the ‘Bad Boys’ lived somewhere else. Although the former Barcelona man spoke only two English words, it was enough to delight his enormous fanbase.
The video has been trending worldwide since its release, highlighting the unmatched popularity of Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi in conversation with Julius Dein
Messi’s encounter with British magician, Julius Dein in 2023 gave the world one of the first-ever instances of Lionel Messi speaking English.
Dein at an event met Messi and Italian player, Marco Verratti. Trying his hand at Spanish, Dein admitted that he needed to improve on the language. Being the humble gentleman that he is, Messi replied, “Very nice of you!”. Verratti could not hold back his laughter at the situation.
At the time, this moment became the talk of town amongst soccer fans all over the planet. Having been amazed by his splendid talent on the pitch for years, fans were as cheerful as ever witnessing their idol and hero speak English for probably the first time in public.
The two legends in their respective fields went on to indulge in various magic tricks for the remainder of the event.
Interaction with Inter Miami teammate
Owing to his move to Inter Miami in 2023, Messi has been getting English lessons to get equipped with the country’s national language. At his new club, it has become a necessity for him to be able to converse in English to interact with his teammates. Inter Miami’s Julian Gressel recently revealed in an interview about one of his conversations with Messi. “You stay, Jordi Alba makes the runs”, Messi told Gressel during one of their games.
Gressel was unsurprisingly impressed by the Argetinian’s attempt to connect with him and made sure to let Messi know about it. Soccer fans around the world appreciated the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner making efforts to blend in with his new environment.
Even after achieving every accolade possible, Lionel Messi still does not stop himself from learning new experiences.