Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has shed some light into some of his goal celebrations that have garnered extra attention from fans since his move to Major League Soccer.
Since making his debut for Miami in the Leagues Cup, Messi has scored nine goals through six games and been in tremendous form.
The one thing that has stood out to some as much as Messi’s play, however, has been the Marvel superhero inspired goal celebrations that he has broken out on three separate occasions.
Some questioned if it was a publicity stunt given Marvel had partnered with MLS earlier this year but speaking to media on Thursday, Messi revealed a far simpler explanation.
‘My three sons are still on vacation, have not started school yet, so every night we watch Marvel superhero movies,’ he said. ‘They came up with the idea and asked that whenever I have a game and score a goal, I do a Marvel superhero celebration.’
Lionel Messi revealed that his three sons are the reason he has been doing Marvel celebrations
He performed Thor and Black Panther celebrations after watching the movies with his kids
After breaking out the Thor and Black Panther celebrations Messi broke out a Spider Man one
‘That’s how it started, and we continued that ritual. Each time we watched a new movie, we would practice a goal celebration.’
‘But I only do them for home games, when the kids are here, near me, so we can share those moments. When I see them in the stands, that is when I do them.’
Messi’s three sons Ciro, Mateo, and Thiago are aged five, seven, and 10 respectively.
The first of such celebrations came during Miami’s 4-0 win against Atlanta United when he celebrated a goal by reaching out and cupping his hand.
Fans had initially speculated that the celebration was the 36-year-old Argentine was turning to Miami co-owner David Beckham and saying ‘hold my beer,‘ – until it was revealed by Messi’s wife Antonela that it was in fact a pose of Thor reaching out for his hammer.
Following that, in a win against in-state rivals Orlando City, Messi crossed his arms over in the form of the Black Panther to do his second Marvel themed celebration.
Messi’s third and for now final Marvel celebration came during the 4-0 victory against Charlotte when he celebrated his goal by pretending to shoot webs as if he was Spider Man.
This led to some fans speculating Messi was either being paid by Marvel or had been hinting at a future project that he would be featured in.
Messi has scored nine goals in his first six games for Inter Miami in a whirlwind start
Messi and Miami are next in action on Saturday night in the Leagues Cup final vs Nashville
Adidas had also recently released a Marvel themed ball and gear for the MLS All-Star game.
Even though it now seems Messi and his Miami arrival had absolutely nothing to do with the league’s All-Star activates, the releases from Adidas only fueled fans speculation-which has now been proven completely incorrect.
The World Cup winner has scored nine times in his first six Miami games and is next in action on Saturday night against Nashville in the Leagues Cup final.
And if Messi continues his superhero level of scoring, it’ll surely mean it is Miami lifting the trophy aloft in Tennessee.
