In the middle of July, the best footballer of our time (fans of Cristiano Ronaldo may argue, but if we take into account the number of Golden Balls won by the Argentine and the Portuguese, then this author's wording will be correct) Lionel Messi unexpectedly left European football. In fact, many expected that the Argentine after the end of the season-2022/23 will say goodbye to "Paris Saint-Germain", which never became native for Leo, but the expectations of Messi's personal fans were associated with the likely return of their favourite to Barcelona - the club where the forward was destined to become a star of world stardom.
However, Messi, having weighed up all the pros and cons, as well as consulted with his wife, decided not to enter the same river twice, and accepted the invitation from across the ocean. That's how Lionel's career was born "Inter Miami", one of the co-owners of which is a star ex-footballer of Manchester United, Real Madrid and England national team David Beckham.
In the United States, Lionel quickly became an object of intense interest. Americans have long been fond of colourful shows, and who but Messi is able to show them the true magic of working with the ball on the football field. It came to the point that the Argentine genius is already in full hunt for fans, and some of them risk and violate the rules of the match, running out onto the lawn for the mere opportunity to literally touch the idol for a second.
But outside the football field Messi lives a real life of a celebrity, although at first, it seems to take advantage of the fact that in the United States he is known in the U.S. is still far from as well as in his homeland, or in Europe ...
Family nest together with his wife Antonella Rocuzzo, as well as three sons Mateo, Tiago and Ciro, Lionel set up in a luxurious new mansion, which is located in Fort Lauderdale - a resort town on the east coast of Florida, located between Miami and West Palm Beach. In Fort Lauderdale itself, as well as its surroundings are located more than four thousand different restaurants and about one and a half hundred nightclubs.
The purchase of the mansion cost Messi approximately 11 million dollars. This structure, the total area of which is almost a thousand square metres, consists of eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a garage for three cars and a huge swimming pool. The mansion also has its own spa, gym and two boat docks.
The property tax alone, which Messi is obliged to pay for the use of such a luxurious mansion, according to experts, is estimated at about 80-90 thousand dollars a year. In addition, inside the house is furnished with incredible luxury, and almost every element of the decor is unique and customised. Also this structure boasts huge panoramic windows, which not only let in a lot of light, but also allow Messi and his family to admire almost from anywhere in the mansion a magnificent view of the water.
Messi also has other properties in Miami. He spent a total of about $19 million to purchase three flats. It is known that one of them has an area of 410 square metres and occupies the entire ninth floor of the exclusive 60-storey Porsche Design Tower Miami. Two more luxury flats Lionel bought in the neighbouring Trump Royale tower.
When the Argentine footballer is tired of sitting at home, he has a great opportunity to organise leisure time. Messi has already been seen many times in the best restaurants in Miami, and one of his favourite establishments has already become Gekko - a Japanese-style steakhouse and lounge. Here they serve sushi, steaks worth under 1000 dollars and speciality cocktails, and the person who "hooked" Lionel on this institution is the already mentioned above David Beckham. The Englishman, as soon as Messi arrived in the United States, called the 2022 World Cup champion together with his ex-Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets for lunch at Gekko, and their joint photo quickly spread on Instagram.
In Miami, Gekko restaurant is considered a real haven for celebrities. Stars such as Kim Kardashian, Eva Longoria and Bryan Cranston are quite frequent visitors here.
A little later a separate photo from this restaurant posted also Messi's wife Antonella Rocuzzo, who had a great time in the institution together with other wives of football celebrities - Victoria Beckham (wife of David Beckham), Elena Galera (wife of Sergio Busquets) and Andrea Rajacic (wife of Thierry Henry).
Also Messi together with his wife and children was spotted at the very beginning of his stay in Miami in an establishment called Cafe Prima Pasta. Prices here are much more democratic - for example, the cost of pasta dishes starts from $ 19.95 per serving. One portion of seafood linguini, which is the speciality of the institution, which Messi ordered during that visit, costs $26.95.
Cafe Prima Pasta owner Gerard Cea was personally present when Messi visited his establishment with his family and subsequently posted a photo on Instagram in which he is pictured next to Lionel, with one of the sons of the Inter Miami Argentine forward sitting behind the men at the drum kit.
Messi did not manage to remain unnoticed that night, although the Argentine was very much looking forward to it. When Lionel and his family decided to go home, they tried to get through the back door unnoticed by the others, but there was already waiting for the Argentine celebrity a prudent crowd of fans.
One of them not only took a photo, which later also went viral on Instagram, but also kissed Lionel, who looked frankly embarrassed, on the cheek. At the same time, the journalists who came up tried to "interrogate" Antonella Rocuzzo, asking her a lot of questions, but the woman, holding her children's hands, just smiled at those around her and slipped into the car.
But life in Miami and its suburbs is not just about endless lounging in cafes and restaurants. Messi together with Antonella even before the official presentation in "Inter Miami" took a short holiday, which was spent where perhaps any young couple in love would prefer to do it - on a gorgeous sandy beach.
Antonella Rocuzzo shared a photo with her Instagram account followers with her beloved on the beach, accompanying the shot with one very succinct and understandable word - "Paradise".
Miami's South Beach is indeed a world-famous place where you can spend your holidays in the most memorable way, doing almost anything your soul desires.
And what Messi probably likes more about the USA than his native Argentina or almost any country in Europe is its non-football status. Overseas, American football, baseball and basketball are much more favoured, and therefore most people there don't know traditional football players that well.
Messi tried to take advantage of this fact at the beginning of his stay in Miami. At least then, in the middle of July, the Argentine together with his wife and children were seen in one of the shops of Publix Super Markets. There he bought the necessary products, among which attentive regulars of social networks immediately recognised packages of popular in the United States breakfast cereals Lucky Charms and Froot Loops.
It is true that Messi still had to allocate a lot of time to be photographed with those who wanted to take pictures, but he did it with a sincere smile on his face and absolutely calm. What can you do, this is the everyday part of the world football superstar's duties...
Alexey SLIVCHENKO