Lionel Messi of Inter Miami celebrates his 4-0 goal over Charlotte in the Leagues Cup game.
Since joining Inter Miami, Lionel Messi has not only mesmerised his fans with his skill on the pitch and knack for scoring goals. With his latest festivities, he has also managed to astound, channelling the superheroes from the vast Marvel world.
Fans were intrigued by how Messi may celebrate a goal against Charlotte FC in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals after he has used two celebrations that were modelled after these characters. As predicted, he resembled Spider-Man.
Messi adopted the image of the well-known superhero after scoring the deciding goal that gave Inter Miami a 4-0 victory and advanced them to the playoffs.
He celebrated in a playful and surprising way, imitating Spider-Man by making up imaginary webs to shoot out of his hands.
After scoring, he moved to his kids Tiago, Ciro, and Mateo and did his own celebration, which was reminiscent of Spider-Man’s defining movements.
Messi has participated in celebrations based on superheroes before. The 36-year-old player made a motion with his right hand during a game against Atlanta United that was evocative of Thor summoning his hammer.
Messi mimicked the famous Black Panther gesture against Orlando City by crossing his arms at the chest after scoring twice.
Messi’s Marvel-themed celebrations have their roots in his celebrations as Thanos during his time with Barcelona.
Messi made the signature snap gesture associated with Thanos, the supervillain from the Avengers film series, when he scored his 700th career goal against Atletico Madrid.
Why does Messi do Marvel celebrations?
There are several theories on Messi’s celebrations of superheroes. While a focus on his children and his love of Marvel movies is the most common justification, there are other ideas that point to possible financial motivations and promotional involvement in an Adidas campaign.
Messi’s presence at Inter Miami led to the team’s confirmation of a Marvel and Adidas partnership to create a limited-edition jersey.
It looks that the introduction of this jersey may be approaching given the regular use of superhero-themed celebrations in his most recent games. Fans eagerly anticipate seeing this international football hero’s next exciting celebration as the anticipation grows.
