But that wasn\u2019t Ulloa\u2019s toughest ask of Messi in the early days. Ulloa and U.S. World Cup veteran DeAndre Yedlin decided to see if the new stars on the team would be willing to sing at a team meal as an initiation ritual. From The Messi Effect:<\/p>\n
Ulloa approached Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Messi, who were sitting together. The superstar trio was initially skeptical, as expected. But Ulloa urged Busquets and Alba, especially. Eventually, Busquets decided he was game to sing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to do it,\u201d Busquets told his two former Barcelona teammates. \u201cBut you guys have to do it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alba and Messi doubted that Busquets would actually sing. The midfielder\u2019s nickname was \u201cThe Silent Conductor\u201d because of his quiet demeanor and subtle brilliance on the pitch. Ulloa stood up and clinked his glass to quiet the group. Then, with the unflinching calm he displayed on the ball while under pressure, Busquets, the legendary No. 6, stood and performed a song. Alba was next. The room turned into a party as the left back belted out the first two words: Pobre diabla! It was the reggaeton classic by Don Omar, and nearly the entire room knew the words and joined in.<\/p>\n
By the end of Alba\u2019s rendition, the entire team was hollering and cheering and urging Messi to go next.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all just waiting, seeing if it was ever gonna happen,\u201d recalled Kamal Miller, the Canadian center back. \u201cHe just got up like, \u2018Okay, screw it. I\u2019m gonna do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Messi stood up on a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cHola,\u201d he said. \u201cSoy Lionel Messi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hi. I\u2019m Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n
Then, he started to sing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAl poco que debut\u00f3 \u00a1Marad\u00f3, Marad\u00f3!<\/p>\n
La 12 fue quien core\u00f3 \u00a1Marad\u00f3, Marad\u00f3!\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a chorus usually bellowed by Argentina fans about Diego Maradona, the forward whose legacy Messi spent his life chasing.<\/p>\n
It took just five seconds before the entire Miami team was on its feet. Players twirled napkins over their heads. The staff, seated at another table, joined the players, banging on their tables and cheering.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was so much noise,\u201d Ulloa said. \u201cIt was just like a huge party for thirty seconds until he stopped. And then we all just celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Lionel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2236496868-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Messi reconnected with former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at Inter Miami (Megan Briggs \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s competitive fire still strong<\/p>\n
When Messi arrived in MLS, many around the world declared that it was the end of the Messi we all knew. There was no way he\u2019d be able to maintain his level playing in North America, they said.<\/p>\n
What that discounted was Messi\u2019s levels of competitiveness.<\/p>\n
On the day he took publicity photos signing a contract with Inter Miami, Messi met ownership and then-sporting director Chris Henderson in his office. What he said as they sat down was one of my favorite things I learned about Messi.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me all the trophies I can win,\u201d Messi said.<\/p>\n
That moment in Henderson\u2019s locker room, and another never-before-reported scene of Messi in the locker room after Inter Miami\u2019s 6-0 loss to Al Nassr in a preseason game in Riyadh, are two examples in the book that laid out not just Messi\u2019s mentality, but his understanding of how there was not one game or action that didn\u2019t somehow impact his legacy. When you\u2019re competing not with your peers, but with Pel\u00e9 and Diego Maradona to be considered the greatest of all time, you don\u2019t have the luxury not to care.<\/p>\n
![\"Lionel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2215801374-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n A rare sight for Messi in MLS: the player giving an interview and speaking to the media (Megan Briggs \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Messi cares about what MLS is \u2014 or isn\u2019t \u2014 doing<\/p>\n
If there is a fundamental difference between Beckham\u2019s time in MLS and Messi\u2019s, it\u2019s that the former embraced his role as a spokesperson for the league while the latter actively avoided it. Messi granted just one press conference after arriving in MLS, before the Leagues Cup final in 2023. While he has done a handful of interviews, including postgame comments or sitdowns on Apple TV, he has largely stayed away from the media in America.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t mistake that aversion for the media for apathy. Messi is set to be a minority owner of Inter Miami when his playing days are done. That keeps him tied to the league and its success. And he wants the league to grow.<\/p>\n
He has said as much in his interviews, with ESPN back in 2023 and again with NBC in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still big changes to be made so that teams can continue to grow, but there is a very important foundation in place where teams are prepared and want that growth, and it\u2019s time to do it,\u201d Messi told NBC.<\/p>\n
Inter owner Jorge Mas told me about a meeting with Messi to discuss a contract extension.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s sitting there going, \u2018I\u2019m filling every stadium,\u2019\u201d Mas says. \u201cAnd in his mind, it\u2019s like, we\u2019re killing it, we\u2019re helping the league, and they can\u2019t move fast. It\u2019s almost embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Lionel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2250415975-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Messi and MLS commissioner Don Garber after Inter Miami won the 2025 MLS Cup title (Elsa \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
MLS still isn\u2019t sure what it wants its future to look like \u2014\u00a0or how to get there<\/p>\n
A big part of the book dives into how Messi\u2019s arrival shaped conversations in MLS boardrooms. After just two years in Miami, league owners voted to flip the calendar to better sync up with the global transfer windows. They are expected to change the competition structure, as well. The last thing to decide, however, is the most important: the roster rules.<\/p>\n
On that issue, MLS remains undecided. In the penultimate chapter of the book, MLS commissioner Don Garber says the league doesn\u2019t necessarily need to, \u201ctear up the playbook and start again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might evolve your playbook, but the basic plan of smart, strategic and thoughtful, collaborative investment is what got MLS to where it is today. And nobody believed we\u2019d be here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
He might be right, but there are others in the room who believe tearing things down and starting anew is exactly what MLS should do. The changes are still being debated in the boardroom.<\/p>\n
With a collective bargaining agreement set to expire in January 2028, in the middle of the league\u2019s first summer-spring season format, and a new commissioner likely to be hired in coming years, there are enormous factors that will influence that decision.<\/p>\n
![\"Lionel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2269849421-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Messi will be tied to Inter Miami long after his playing days (Megan Briggs \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s impact may be more lasting in Miami than in MLS<\/p>\n
While MLS is still debating the last and most important piece in its evolution \u2014 and the decision that will have the biggest impact on how we talk about Messi\u2019s legacy in MLS \u2014 Jorge and Jose Mas and Beckham are more certain in how they will ensure the legendary No. 10\u2019s place at Inter Miami.<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s ownership stake isn\u2019t just about compensation. It links Messi to Inter Miami in perpetuity, much in the same way Beckham remains an important ambassador and spokesperson for MLS two decades after signing.<\/p>\n
Inter Miami\u2019s ownership group wanted to ensure that when people thought about Messi, they didn\u2019t think about just Barcelona and Argentina, but their club too. Signs of that permanence are apparent already. The Lionel Messi Stand at Nu Stadium<\/a>. Messi\u2019s youth soccer tournament.<\/p>\n They want Messi to be an active owner, involved in sporting decisions and in the day-to-day decisions of the club. That\u2019s a way to ensure Messi\u2019s legacy in Miami extends well beyond when his contract runs out.<\/p>\n \u201cHis impact has got to last forever, and if it doesn\u2019t, then we failed,\u201d Jose Mas says.<\/p>\n