‘Spicy’ Messi targets his competitive passion at rowdy Club America fans | OneFootball

The fuss over Lionel Messi’s message to Mexican fans during Inter Miami’s preseason friendly against Club America on Jan. 18 is finally settling, so allow me to offer my take.

I love “Spicy” Messi.

The Argentine legend didn’t become the greatest soccer player of all time because of his giving nature. Think about the greats in any sport: basketball’s Michael Jordan, baseball’s Shohei Ohtani, American football’s Walter Payton…What sets them apart from other supremely talented athletes in their sports is their competitive drive.

What happened? Michelle Kaufman wrote an excellent account in the Miami Herald, but here it is in a nutshell: A group of primarily Mexican and Mexican American fans at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas began chanting offensive messages and slurs at Messi and the Herons; when Messi scored in the 34th minute, “he faced the América crowd, pointed to his name on the back of his shirt, then pointed to his chest and put three fingers up in the air, then proceeded to point toward the fans and made a zero with his hand,” Kaufman wrote. Argentina has won three World Cup championships, Mexico zero. Oh, and Argentina has defeated El Tri three of the previous five World Cup tournaments. AND La Albiceleste beat Mexico 3-0 in the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela; a 20-year-old Messi scored in the match.

Adolfo Bautista, a retired Mexican player, messaged Messi on Instagram:

C’mon, Bogo. “Lack of professionalism and education”? Compared to the behavior of some Aguilas fans at the match, I thought Messi was reserved.

Some fans behave badly; that’s a universal truth, it’s not limited specifically to fans of Club America or the Mexican national team (although El Tri supporters have become notorious for their chanting specific homophobic slurs). Contrary to the claims of many boorish boosters, the price of admissions does NOT include permission to speak or act abusively. If Messi’s goal celebration was a rebuke to the fans’ poor behavior, I applaud the effort. If he was simply trolling his taunters, I applaud that, too.

Either way, Messi’s confrontational impulse bodes well for Inter Miami’s 2025 season. Battered Herons’ podcast hosts Kris Duran and Daniel Granada coined the term “Spicy Messi” and have often noted when Messi gets fired up, he brings a little more zest.