Before leaving for Paris on Monday to attend the Ballon d’Or presentation, Lionel Messi was spotted in Miami getting a new haircut. He is expected to win soccer’s most coveted award for a record eighth time.
With his hands in his pockets, the 36-year-old World Cup champion flaunted his new haircut as he took a selfie in Vice City with his barber, Luis Andres Rivera.
‘Getting ready for tomorrow, dropping the largest [G.O.A.T] @leomessi off,’ Rivera wrote on Instagram. “Special day when he will win his [Ballon d’Or] number 8 in God’s name.”
“I appreciate your unwavering trust in me, Leo, and the opportunity you gave me to potentially make the biggest cut of my career.”
The world will witness it.
Messi was spotted lounging in Naples, Florida earlier on Sunday with his spouse Antonela and his former Navy SEAL bodyguard. Their three kids, Mateo, Thiago and Ciro, 5, were not present.
Throughout history, no one has taken home more than five of Messi’s seven Ballon d’Or awards.
Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, stated earlier this month that Messi and Erling Haaland, his best player, should share the prize.
Guardiola, who coached Messi at Barcelona, stated, “I always said that the Ballon d’Or had to be of two sections – one for Messi and one for the others.”
Messi will set yet another record by placing in the top three of the voting for the fourteenth time. He has won it while playing for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and now it looks like he may win it while playing for Inter Miami, which would be the first time an MLS player has received this kind of honour.
‘Playing with him on the pitch and sharing moments together is a joy,’ said Jordi Alba, a longtime Messi teammate who joined him with Inter Miami as well.
Messi’s first season in Miami—or rather, his first half-season—was marked by great success in many aspects and failure in others. Messi led the squad to the Leagues Cup championship, which was the club’s first trophy. Despite wearing the captain’s armband, he let Yedlin, the previous captain, carry the trophy as a sign of the humility his teammates spoke about.
The number of attendees increased dramatically, as did Inter Miami’s presence on social media for football, Apple TV viewership was said to surge, and Messi’s No. 10 jersey became the most sought-after item in the MLS.
With Inter Miami, he makes between $50 million and $60 million a season, and the revenue streams enable him to do so. (Many supporters are upset because season ticket prices for 2024 are also significantly higher.)
However, injuries and general wear and tear were all too evident, likely made worse by Inter Miami’s requirement to play a lot of Leagues Cup games. (Messi stated, “It was very hard for us, playing every three days, with travel and training.”)
Messi missed a significant portion of the late-season squad’s MLS schedule due to a leg injury, and the team narrowly missed the league playoffs—although, to be fair, the team was already eliminated from contention when Messi arrived in July.
They’re getting ready for 2024 already, having started training for two shows in China in early November. And when the year ends, everyone will be expecting Inter Miami to take home every trophy that it enters, including the CONCACAF Champions Cup, MLS Cup, Leagues Cup, and U.S. Open Cup.
Messi told reporters following an Argentina match earlier this month, “I’ll enjoy the holidays in Argentina, the first time I’ll have a lot of fun in December, in peace with my people.” “And after that, I’ll return for the preseason, start over from scratch, and get ready for the best results possible as usual.”