Lionel Messi is a “rock star”, Paul Scheer has told Taylor Twellman, with the Inter Miami icon putting on a show akin to Prince or Bruce Springsteen.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner continues to pull in huge crowds across the United States, with more than 72,000 spectators packing into Arrowhead Stadium for his latest MLS outing against Sporting Kansas City.
WHAT SCHEER SAID ABOUT MESSI
A-list guests are flocking to watch him in action – including Hollywood actor Scheer, who attended Inter Miami’s 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy in February that saw the Herons’ mercurial No.10 net a 92nd-minute equaliser – and he has told the Offside with Taylor Twellman podcast of what makes the Messi show special: “There was a crowd there that was excited for soccer simply because…look, it’s seeing a rock star. Regardless if you like Prince, you like Bruce Springsteen, you see them, you go, “Oh, this is a talent that is worthy,” right? You just are impressed and that’s it. So I feel like you had soccer fans there, not even just Galaxy fans, soccer fans, and they wanted to see a great game. And I think a lot of those people paid a sh*t load of money. They were going to root and bring it. It was interesting because we go there and we’re watching and there’s a part of me that’s like, look, I’m there as a guest of the Galaxy and I’m very happy to be rooting for the Galaxy.
“But look, we all know why we’re there. We’re there to watch this player that defies everything that we know about sports. That’s what we want to see. It’s amazing. And you get to that point where I’m like, ‘Oh, what a bummer. We came here and we’re not going to see Messi score’. It was great to watch him play; a competitive game, but man, we’re not going to get it. And I remember just sitting there going, ‘All right, what’s two minutes left of the game’, or whatever it is, and then…you gently… your stomach dropped. It was like, ‘Whoa…’ It was shocking. It was amazing. You couldn’t take your eyes off him the entire game. And I think what’s kind of great about him is he’s not washed. He’s not washed at all. He’s playing great. I was so impressed with the way just the energy around him and he is, like you said, taking it seriously. It’s not a victory lap. It’s not just coming out. I will say the best security I’ve ever seen of any player of all time.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Scheer – who has starred in various films and television series, including ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ – added on the potential for a Messi film that follows a similar theme to the ‘Like Mike’ basketball production from from 2002 that sees an orphaned teenager become an NBA star after finding a pair of ‘MJ’ trainers: “Here’s my pitch… My quick pitch is you make ‘Like Mike’, but ‘Like Messi’. Kid finds Messi’s cleats and he is able to play great. And put them in the MLS. It’ll be amazing. There it is. Let’s go get that made. ‘Like Messi’.”
WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?
Messi has already starred in a documentary series for Apple TV, which covered his start to life in the United States following a stunning move in the summer of 2023, and there will be plenty more tales to tell once the day comes for the all-time great to hang up his boots.
