Before Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami took on Sporting Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium in April, he met Patrick Mahomes in the hallway, where Mahomes confessed to feeling ‘nervous’ during their encounter.
Patrick Mahomes shared that he felt “nervous” during his encounter with soccer icon Lionel Messi at Arrowhead Stadium on April 13.
Despite his own superstar status as the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Mahomes mentioned on the ImPaulsive podcast that he wasn’t sure if Messi recognized him.
The meeting highlighted a rare moment where sporting legends from different realms – American football and soccer – experience awe in each other’s presence.
“I just met (Lionel) Messi the other day, I was so nervous… I was hoping it would happen naturally,” he said on the podcast, according to Mirror.
“So I was walking down the hall and they’re walking in a tight hallway. He’s going to warm up, what am I supposed to say? (I said) ‘Have fun out there’ and he had a goal and an assist so I feel like he had a great time, he had fun, it was all on me.”
Sporting Kansas City typically plays its home games at the more intimate Children’s Mercy Park, which holds 25,000 fans. However, the arrival of Inter Miami, featuring the legendary Lionel Messi, necessitated a move to the larger Arrowhead Stadium, the regular home of the Kansas City Chiefs, with a seating capacity of 76,000.
The game attracted an impressive 72,610 spectators, marking it as the fourth largest attendance in MLS history. The crowd witnessed a thrilling match where Messi not only scored but also assisted his longtime teammate Luis Suarez for the game-winning goal, as Miami secured a 3-2 victory over Kansas City.
While football reigns supreme globally, with Messi as an internationally recognized figure, American football is also broadening its global footprint. Patrick Mahomes, a major star in the United States, acknowledges that his global fame has yet to reach the widespread recognition that Messi commands.
