![]() In 2021, they renovated the restaurant in Little Haiti in northeast Miami with another mural of Messi on the same wall, this one by Chilean-American artist Claudio Picasso. His idea was to honor him and the resilience he brings, never giving up. Álvarez and his brother Cristian had the original mural with Messi’s face painted in the restaurant in 2018, when many people criticized the football star for his role in the Argentine national team’s poor performance. “Coming to this league is not the same as playing in the European league,” said the Argentine businessman. “It also makes me sad, nostalgic, because it looks like it is the beginning of his retirement.” “I love that he’s in Miami because my children will be able to experience him like I experienced (fellow Argentina football star Diego) Maradona,” said Maximiliano Alvarez, one of the owners of the Fiorito restaurant, where a wall has a giant mural of Messi. In a career spanning more than 17 years with his country’s national team, Messi has scored more than 100 goals, including two against France at the 2022 World Cup, a match Argentina won on penalties. The seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, the football world’s most prestigious individual award, is coming off two years with Paris Saint-Germain and is expected to make his Inter Miami debut against Mexican team Cruz Azul on July 21. More than 100,000 Argentines live in Miami, which will host World Cup matches in 2026. Messi announced on June 7 that he will play for Inter Miami in a move that is expected to revitalize football in the US and South Florida with one of the sporting world’s best-known figures. But his arrival is also bringing a note of sadness as fans know that at age 36 he is nearing the end of his career. There is no hiding the euphoria generated by Messi in Miami as he begins the new Major League Football phase of his career in one of the most Latino cities in the US. Wherever you turn in Miami these days something reminds you of the imminent arrival of the Argentine football legend. A beer with a pink label matching the color of the Inter Miami jersey he will wear. A huge sketch of the football star’s smiling face on a restaurant wall beside a viral meme from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. MIAMI: A hamburger and drink combination called the Lionel Messi. ![]()
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