Soccer star Lionel Messi is in attendance for the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday night, ahead of a major announcement anticipated after the game.
He arrived wearing an adidas branded sweater, while two of his sons wore black Patrick Mahomes jerseys as they entered the SuperDome. This is no unified front for the Chiefs, however. Messi’s oldest son, Thiago, wore an Eagles jersey with the No. 1 on it for quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Messi was also joined by Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba with their families for the game. The teammates made it to the big game despite a quick turnaround. He scored a goal and had two assists during an Inter Miami preseason game in Honduras on Saturday night.
As the 2025 NFL season ends with the big game between the Chiefs and Eagles, Messi’s presence is a reminder the 2025 soccer year will be underway shortly.
Messi and Inter Miami will be featured in the first game of the MLS season, when they host New York City FC on Feb. 22. Inter Miami will also participate in several tournaments during the MLS season, including this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup and the Concacaf Champions Cup later this month.
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Who is Messi rooting for in Super Bowl 59, Chiefs or Eagles?
Messi may not have a dog in the fight between the Chiefs and Eagles, but he briefly met Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes before a soccer game last year. That, coupled with the majority of his sons’ rooting for Mahomes, makes us think he’d be happy with a Chiefs win.
Mahomes was asked about Messi attending the Super Bowl earlier this week.
“He’s the GOAT of his profession. To have someone like that at the game would be awesome. I get to showcase who I am and what talent that I have,” Mahomes said. “I got to watch him when he played in Kansas City, I think it was last year… And he had two goals in that game. And you see the greatness, the greatness that he displays every single day. And so [he’s] someone else that I can look up to and try to get to his level someday.”
Messi and Mahomes met before he scored a goal and an assist (so yeah, two goals) to help Inter Miami defeat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium on April 13, 2024. A reported crowd of 72,610 attended, marking it the most-attended soccer match in state of Missouri and the third-most attended MLS game in history.
Messi also had one of the most popular Super Bowl commercials last year with Michelob Ultra, featuring Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino.
Messi, the reigning MLS MVP, is widely regarded as one of the best soccer players of all time. He’s certainly the most famous athlete living in the United States with more than 500 million followers on Instagram.