Five minutes before the end of the first half of Argentina's 2-0 win over Australia on Thursday evening, a chant rang out across Beijing's newly renovated Workers' Stadium, a justification for why, 7,771 miles away, Inter Miami has made the biggest splash in MLS history. It was a chorus delivered in tribute to one man delivered not in their native tongue, but in English. "Let's go, Messi!"
To cast one's eyes across the stands of the newly renovated stadium, it appeared as though each one of the 68,000 attendees that had been able to source a highly in-demand ticket for the reigning world champion's clash with the Socceroos was wearing some variant of a Lionel Messi shirt, such was the sea of white that was visible whenever the camera panned wide enough show the stands overlooking the action.
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And even when the camera zoomed in and it was apparent that maybe that wasn't quite the case, not even the scant pockets of Australian support proved immune to the "Messimania" gripping the Chinese capital: footage showing one young fan wearing an Australian flag around his waist, positioned carefully to not obscure the Messi jersey that he was wearing. And fortunately for those in attendance, the marquee attraction didn't make them wait. Just 80 seconds into the contest he was curling a sublime effort beyond Mat Ryan and into the back of the Australian's goal, the 103 and fastest international goal of his career.
Two minutes later he was springing Alexis Mac Allister in behind the defence for what should have been the second, and a few minutes after that he was driving a shot into the side netting after being played through by Angel Di Maria.
Australia was hardly embarrassed after their slow start. They rallied and their ability to win the ball back with their press and immediately spring forward in transition started to ask a few questions of their foe's defence. They probably should have gone level in the 28th minute when Jordy Bos picked out Mitch Duke at the top of the six-yard box, only for his scuffed effort to be redirected onto the post and then claimed by Emiliano Martinez.
Bos, in particular, looked at home going up against the (admittedly end-of-season-mode) world champions, adding yet more excitement around his future just a month on from setting an Australian record for its most expensive outbound transfer.
Yet, for all their endeavour, Duke's attempt was the lone one his side would produce that would have quicked Martinez's pulse. Seemingly every time they needed to, Argentina would produce a moment of class or inspiration to stop the momentum from getting out of hand. And it was their star man, Messi, at the centre of a lot of it. He induced substitute Denis Genreau into bringing him down and drove in a free kick that deflected off Kye Rowles. After a brief pitch invasion-enforced interlude, the subsequent corner saw he and Rodrigo De Paul combine on a series of one-twos that gave way to a ball whipped onto the head of German Pezzella to make it 2-0.
In the 78th minute, Rowles tried to wrestle him to the ground like he was auditioning for a position in Queensland's NRL State of Origin side, only for Messi to skip away. Then Keanu Baccus stuck a foot in, then Genreau, only for them to discover that the ball had suddenly teleported and was being taken away from them at the feet of Messi, who had somehow danced around them.
Certainly, those in attendance would have gone home happy with it all. Weeks of hype justified. The Argentine superstar was the number one trending topic on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, home to over half a billion users, before the game and a promotional appearance on a 15-minute livestream on Taobao, an Alibaba-backed e-commerce platform, at three in the afternoon drew almost three million views.
Messi and his teammates were reportedly unable to stage a training session before the friendly because "outrageously passionate" fans congregated in great enough numbers outside their lodgings to ensure they were "unable to leave the hotel," according to local officials. And much in the same way that Messi's arrival at Inter Miami has seen ticket prices for future games climb as much as 1000% higher, tickets for Thursday evening's game were going for up to 4,800 yuan ($USD 680, $AUD 980) according to local reports.
In his pre-game press conference, coach Lionel Scaloni had soothed nerves caused by rumours Messi would only play a half by telling local media "he will play the full match in principle," and he subsequently proved as good as his word -- something that one has to think wouldn't have been the case, especially against a team as physical as the Socceroos, if there wasn't a commercial arrangement for the superstar to play the full 90. He will not feature in La Albiceleste's fixture with Indonesia next week, instead heading out on holiday before he reports to Miami. His nation, potentially, now looks ahead to a 2026 FIFA World Cup without their maestro.
Thursday's game itself was organised by a promoter, China Rainbow International Investment Company, which has previously mostly restricted itself to engineering and petrochemical initiatives. Once they had secured Messi and Argentina's involvement, they didn't care much about who they faced in Beijing, with it being the Argentines themselves that recommended the Socceroos, who were one last-gasp Martinez save on Garang Kuol away from taking them to extra time at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
This is what Inter Miami (and the MLS, Apple, Adidas, and who knows who else) is paying for in bringing possibly the greatest footballer of all time to South Florida. Not just a maestro that can do things on a football pitch that shouldn't be possible for anyone, let alone someone that's 35 years old and ostensibly in the twilight of their career, but a figure that forces the world to pay attention every time he steps onto the pitch or appears on a screen.
Brand Messi has always been a thing, of course, but now with his move away from Europe, this identity, like that of his longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, is entering a new, preeminent stage. No longer is playing in the top leagues of Europe and pursuing another Champions League or Ballon d'Or at the forefront. That fig leaf has been removed.
And with his trip to China, possibly his last foray into Asia as a competitive footballer, there was a perfect demonstration of perhaps why there has never been a better sportsperson with a brand like Messi to leverage. Why Inter Miami's securing his services isn't just something that will grow their and the MLS' brand in the United States but around the world. Among literal billions that are always online, always watching, and always seeking more content around the world, in places like the massive and growing markets of China and Indonesia, a good chunk of them still find it in the latest addition at DRV PNK Stadium.