Lionel Messi Surprises Inter Miami Teammate Gressel With English Speaking Skills

Lionel Messi Surprises Inter Miami Teammate Gressel With English Speaking Skills

Martin Moses
updated at March 3, 2024 at 9:12 AM
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Lionel Messi logo
L.Messi
Inter Miami CF logoFArgentina logo
Inter Miami CF logo
Club Internacional de Futbol Miami
United States
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Julian Gressel logo
J. Gressel
Inter Miami CF logoDGermany logo
FC Barcelona logo
FC Barcelona
Spain
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Paris Saint Germain (PSG) logo
PSG
France
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  • Not very many people can attest to listening to or hearing Lionel Messi speak English
  • The Inter Miami star has largely spent his career in Spanish-speaking countries
  • His club teammate, Julian Gressel, has now disclosed how good Messi's English is

Lionel Messi has done everything possible on a football pitch, winning every individual and collective award available to him.

But the one thing his fans have almost never heard him do is speak English. In the numerous gala ceremonies he has been invited to, the right-time Ballon d'Or often gives his acceptance speeches in Spanish.

Lionel Messi, Inter Miami, Julian Gressel, FIFA Best Awards, Does Messi speak English?
Lionel Messi speaks to the audience after winning the 2022 FIFA Best Award. Photo by Christian Liewig - Corbis.
Source: Getty Images

A native of Rosario, Argentina, which is a Spanish-speaking country, Messi didn't have to learn English as he moved to Barcelona at a tender age. He spent almost his entire career in Catalunya before moving to France in 2021 and going to Florida two years later.

Can Lionel Messi speak English?

His teammate at Inter Miami, Julian Gressel, has now shed light on what Messi's English sounds like. Gressel discloses that the 2022 World Cup winner approached him to share tactical advice during their friendly game against Al-Hilal and did so in English.

"He came over to me and said something in English. That was the first time he spoke to me in English. 'Now, we change. You stay, and Jordi runs. Jordi goes more in behind.' I was like, " Okay, sounds good," Gressel said on the Player/Manager Podcast.

The midfielder, who was recently signed from Columbus Crew, added that Messi cracked a joke about his English.

"He goes, 'English, pretty good, no?' I was like, 'Yes, very, very good, I understood everything'."

Luis Suarez scores first Inter Miami goal

The two players have helped Inter Miami to a decent start in the 2024 Major League Soccer Season. Messi scored twice in their 5-0 win against Orlando City on March 3. Gressel chipped in with two assists.

Sports Brief has reported that Luis Suarez was the star of the show, scoring twice and setting up two other goals in the huge victory. It was his first goal in the MLS since signing from Gremio at the end of last year.

The Herons now remain unbeaten in the Eastern Conference, topping the league with seven points after three games. They play Nashville next in the CONCACAF Champions League round of 16.

Authors
Martin Moses photo
Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)