Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami has led to star-studded crowd in Florida.
But the Argentine’s impact has been that big that he’s even put Premier League clubs at risk of losing fans – that’s what one Manchester United fan has told talkSPORT, anyway.
After making headlines for attracting stars such as Kim Kardashian, tennis legend Serena Williams and basketball icon LeBron James to his debut, a number of other A-listers were in the crowd for Miami’s 4-0 win over Atlanta United.
Messi, his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets and the rest of the Miami squad put on a show for rapper P Diddy, singer Camilla Cabello and DJ Khaled who were spotted in the crowd.
DJ Khaled’s son was also a mascot for the game, with Messi seen comforting him as he lead his new side out.
Messi’s debut brought Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham close to tears.
But this time round the 2022 World Cup winner had him smiling from ear to ear as he pulled out his holding a beer celebration for the Manchester United legend.
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This trend of celebrities flocking to Florida to see Messi isn’t likely to end anytime soon – and it’s likely it won’t just be stars that are slowly but surely becoming Miami fans thanks to the football icon.
Rather than supporting your football club thanks to your parents or friends, the next generation may be more inclined to follow a player, rather than a club.
And that’s what Man United fan Matt believes his son has already started doing.
On the Sports Bar on talkSPORT, Matt revealed his son is already branching out from simply supporting the Red Devils and he won’t be the only parent.
“My son who’s six is a Man United and a Messi fan,” he explained. “Obviously these kids go on YouTube and watch football and the first names that come up when they watch all these things is Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo.
“So he loves Messi. I totally disagree [with it], I was driving down the M1 with him, bless him, and he’s sat in his car seat and said ‘Daddy I don’t want to support Man United anymore, I wanna support Messi’.”
When asked if his son was getting an Inter Miami kit now that Messi is over there, Matt replied: “I’ve been trying to keep it quiet from him to be fair!” he said.
“He’s got the Man United shirt and kit and he’s fully there but these kids these days just follow players as well.”