It was the football World Cup in Russia in 2018. Argentina playing Nigeria in a group match at St Petersburg on 26 June. It was meant to be Lionel Messi’s World Cup, the Barcelona star already considered the world’s best footballer — in conjunction with Cristiano Ronaldo — but seeking a World Cup trophy that separates the good from the great.
That match against Nigeria was attended by Diego Maradona, the late Argentinian great who inspired the team to the 1986 World Cup and became the symbol of the country’s football for generations. Among the majority of Argentinian fans at the Krestovsky Stadium or Zenit Arena, was a 12-year-old, whose dream was not just for Argentina to win the World Cup, but for Messi to score.
When Messi did score against Nigeria, the child cried copiously, even as his father tried hard to console him, shedding a few tears himself. Others may have done the same across the stadium, adding many invisible layers of pressure on Messi, aware of what his country expects of him. Argentina got eliminated then, but four years later, Messi would get his last shot at the prize in Qatar.
A four-part documentary Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend that drops on Apple TV+ on February 21 documents his journey in Qatar when he finally fulfilled what many believed to be his destiny, a World Cup trophy in the bag. His last chance turning out to be his finest moment.
Come 2022, says one of the guests in the documentary’s trailer, the pressure was all Lionel because he had never delivered ultimate glory on the world stage.
Messi delivered, scoring seven goals in the tournament including two in the final against France in a match that went to penalties. That title triumph only added to his popularity, already touching the heavens because of his exploits at Barcelona, winning the Copa America (in 2021) for Argentina and a record eight Ballon d’Or — the biggest individual prize in world football. With French club Paris Saint-Germain at the time, he moved in mid-2023 to the US, popularised by David Beckham as the destination for fading superstars to extend their glory and playing careers.
According to the Associated Press, Messi sold more jerseys within 24 hours of signing up with Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Inter Miami — co-owned by Beckham — than any other player changing teams, including baseball’s Tom Brady and basketball’s Lebon James, who played more traditional American sports.
After Messi joined MLS, tickets for every Inter Miami game sold out, according to The Athletic. It reported that Inter Miami had already sold out its season tickets for the new season, the first full season with Messi even though prices in some sections of their stadium doubled.
The Athletic further reported that Apple brokered a revenue sharing deal with Messi who stands to profit from increased subscriptions for Apple’s MLS season pass with Apple TV, reason why the Messi documentary is on the platform. The club’s valuation, the report added, increased from $600 million before Messi’s arrival to $1 billion now. Apple has a $2.5 billion 10-year deal with the MLS.
The riches that Messi brings, for himself, his club, broadcast and merchandise partners, negates the impact of ageing or diminishing prowess on the football field that used to be the norm some years ago. Messi’s competitor for the greatest contemporary footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, at age 37 signed up with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr in 2022 for a reported yearly €200m salary, said to be the highest ever paid to a professional footballer, after moving from Manchester United in the Premier League. In 2018, 36-year-old Roger Federer signed a 10-year $300 million deal with Japanese brand Uniqlo after ending an over two-decade long partnership with Nike, which, in retrospect, turned out to be just four years before he quit the game.
That Messi can play a role in financial gains and popularity stakes was a given, but football’s reach is such that footballers can be influencers in geo-political discussions. When he didn’t play during Inter Miami’s game in Hong Kong this month — citing injury — and appeared for a game in Japan a few days later, his reputation in China, an important market for football’s stakeholders, took a beating. Peeved fans brought up the Falkland Islands — a subject of conflict between Argentina and Britain — and called Messi a thief. Though the footballer apologised through his social media handles, the plea was a mere balm on a cut too deep.
The organiser of Inter Miami’s match in Hong Kong, Tatler Asia, a magazine and lifestyle brand, said it would offer refunds of 50 per cent, costing them £5.7m, The Guardian reported. Further fallout of the Messi non-appearance in Hong Kong led to Argentina’s friendly matches in Hangzhou and Beijing being cancelled.
If Messi’s move from the more traditional football arenas of Europe to the US, where football — or soccer as it’s called there — is a sidebar in the universe of sports, seemed like a step down, that’s proven to be an inaccurate assumption. Messi’s influence has remained the same, maybe grown, as everything he touches turns gold and is sought after vigorously. Last week, Messi made his debut in a Super Bowl ad, American football’s biggest day, for a beer brand. Super Bowl commercials are a cultural phenomenon, for their viewership and reach, marking Messi’s integration into the American sporting universe.
“It’s unbearable to be Messi. It’s extraordinary to be Messi,” says one of the commentators in documentary Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend. That continues to be the story of the 36-year-old who is no way near to walking into the sunset.
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