Adorable moment Lionel Messi high fives and hugs the excited game mascots before they chant his name in the tunnel ahead of Inter Miami’s MLS game against the New York Red Bulls
- Lionel Messi made his MLS debut from the bench against the New York Red Bulls
- The Argentinian superstar was greeted in the tunnel by over-enthusiastic mascots
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Lionel Messi made the day of the New York Red Bulls mascots when he gave them all a high five ahead of Inter Miami’s return to MLS action Saturday night.
Messi made his highly anticipated MLS debut in Inter Miami’s league match against the New York Red Bulls following the Herons’ recent cup success.
And despite representing his rival, the mascots couldn’t contain their excitement when they met the World Cup winner.
As the Argentine superstar emerged from the tunnel of the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, he walked past the line of youngsters who stopped to give them all a high five.
But someone at the end of the line wasn’t satisfied with just a high five and couldn’t resist himself as he launched himself at the 36-year-old star and gave him a huge hug. Messi, clearly unfazed by the hug, gave the mascot a warm hug back.
Lionel Messi was greeted by overenthusiastic mascots in the tunnel ahead of Inter Miami’s game
The Argentine superstar was on his way to the field ahead of his MLS debut against Red Bulls
In another clip shared on social media, the mascots could also be seen huddled in the stadium, chanting the attacker’s name.
The disgruntled New Jersey crowd also began chanting the global icon’s name as he was benched for the start of the MLS game.
Inter boss Tata Martino hinted on Friday that his star man could be rested this weekend after making eight appearances in the space of six weeks since arriving at the club.
Speaking after their win over Cincinnati in the US Open Cup semi-final, Martino said: “Leo and many other players are reaching an important physical limit and starting today we will start evaluating this – how am I going to face the next three games?
“You also have to take into account the large number of games we played in 45, 50 days.”
And Martino finally made the decision to rest the 36-year-old for part of the New Jersey game.
Messi made his MLS debut from the bench in the 60th minute of the New Jersey game
Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets also started the game on the bench on Saturday night.
After a remarkable first month on American soil, Messi would make his MLS bow at the Red Bull Arena.
That caused a stir on the ticketing websites, with fans turning down their seats at the match for up to an hour $23,528 – including taxes.
But the fans were eventually rewarded for dishing out hundreds and thousands of players as Messi made his MLS debut from the bench in the 60th minute.