During the preseason tour of Saudi Arabia,
Lionel Messi
gave a relaxed interview on one of the most famous podcasts in that country. There, the Argentine star had revealed that, in addition to soccer,
these months of stay in the United States had turned him to American soccer
, the king of sports in that North American country.
“I really like tennis, basketball, paddle tennis. Today that I am in the United States I am learning a lot about American football. Today, giving it more importance and understanding it, I look at it and enjoy it
,” he had said. And this Saturday, in his visit with a goal and assist against Sporting KC, the
Big Bang
occurred
: the world champion with the Argentine National Team greeted
Patrick Mahomes
, the GOAT of football.
The meeting had a casual tone, just before Inter Miami went out to warm up at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, current two-time NFL champions. Messi was walking through the bowels of that giant construction that he showed off to a record
72,610 spectators,
when a door opened and he immediately identified Mahomes.
There was a high five and a heartfelt hug, in addition to a brief exchange of words in which Mahomes' loud voice dominated, but in which Messi also managed to whisper a phrase to him in English that went viral on social networks. It is known that listening to the 37-year-old from Rosario speaking in a language other than Spanish is atypical.
A paragraph to understand who Pat Mahomes is. Although six words are actually enough.
He is the Messi of American football
. At 28 years old he is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the sport that reigns in the land of Uncle Sam. So that those who don't understand anything can understand: they are the usual strong guys who are the little guys in the movie in hundreds of plots of feature films
made in Hollywood
. In addition, he is a shareholder in the city team that competes in the MLS.
"Nice to meet you"
was the soft phrase that was detected in the exchange that lasted just a few seconds. The Mahomes thing was a little longer and more intense.
"You're the best, man, have fun out there
," the quarterback told the Argentine captain of Inter Miami.
It seemed like a premonition
.
The thing is that on the playing field, Messi gave his own recital. A great goal with a mid-range missile and an assist for the Paraguayan youth Diego Gómez the 3-2 victory that took him out of a bad streak of five games without winning (three losses and two draws between MLS and the Concachampions).
With his contribution this Saturday, Messi has accumulated
five goals and five assists in the five games
he played in the regular season of the American tournament. He is at the top of the contribution table in the league along with Colombian
Cristian Arango
, of Real Salt Lake.