Soccer superstar Lionel Messi has revealed the heartwarming reason behind his superhero goal celebrations.
The Argentinian forward left Paris Saint Germain to join David Beckham owned Inter Miami, bringing his family with him to the sunshine state.
Messi, and former Barcelona team-mates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, have hit the ground running in Major League Soccer (MLS) with Messi netting 10 goals in seven matches while inspiring his new club to a penalty shoot-out victory over Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup final.
I now understand Lionel Messi's celebrations.
— FansArena (@FansArena4) August 12, 2023
No wonder he is in the land of comic movies pic.twitter.com/RLlacxODIP
But, aside from his sublime play, what captured the attention of fans online has been the four-time Champions League winner’s latest celebrations after scoring.
It began in Inter Miami’s game against Atlanta United when Messi scored and celebrated by imitating Thor’s iconic action of calling his hammer Mjolnir.
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In the next match against Florida rivals Orlando City, he was again on the score sheet, and this time celebrated his goal by imitating Marvel’s Black Panther’s famous “Wakanda Forever” salute.
Then, after scoring a goal in the 86th minute of a game against Charlotte, he was seen imitating Spiderman’s “Webshooting” wrist actions.
Speaking to the Miami Heral before his team’s Leagues Cup final match, Messi revealed the heartwarming reason behind the new celebrations.
🗣️ Lionel Messi on his goal celebrations: “My three sons have not started school yet, so every night we watch Marvel superhero movies.
— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) August 18, 2023
They asked that whenever I have a game and score a goal, I do a superhero celebration. Each time we watched a new movie, we would practice a… pic.twitter.com/fRbfNxioOk
Lionel Messi hit the Spider-Man celebration after scoring his eighth goal in five games for Inter Miami🕷pic.twitter.com/vvZBaXPzPo
— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) August 12, 2023
He said: “My three kids are still on vacation and they haven’t started school yet so every night we watch Marvel superheroes.
“They are the ones who came up with the idea and told me that every time I have a game and I score a goal I celebrate in a Marvel superhero way.
“This is how the idea started and we have continued with this habit.”