Lionel Messi is set to play at one of the most iconic stadiums in the United States on Saturday night, with Inter Miami meeting Sporting KC at Arrowhead Stadium, home of Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs.
Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes are usually the stars on the Arrowhead field but on Saturday night, 70,000 fans are expected to turn out to see one of the all-time greats of the other football in action.
Sporting KC usually plays Major League Soccer games at the 18,500 capacity Children’s Mercy Park but with the Argentina World Cup winner in town, the game was moved to the grandest stage in the city.
Messi played 90 minutes on Wednesday night as Miami crashed out of the Champions Cup with an emphatic 3-1 loss to Monterrey – his first full 90 minutes since March 7.
‘Messi finished the game in Monterrey without any discomfort,’ Miami assistant Javier Morales said Friday as he provided a brief but positive update on the star man’s condition.
Tickets are available on resale sites from around $120 and it remains to be seen if any of the Chiefs stars will be turning up at Arrowhead in their offseason to see Messi play.
Kelce, who was in Cincinnati midweek to host a live version of his New Heights podcast, is rumored to be attending Coachella either this weekend or next with girlfriend Taylor Swift.
Chiefs quarterback Mahomes, meanwhile, is part of the ownership group of women’s team Kansas City Current, alongside his wife Brittany, herself an ex-player. He has been working out in Texas this week with members of the Chiefs offense.
Miami co-owner David Beckham was in Mexico for the Monterrey game in the week and regularly attends his team’s games.
Arrowhead Stadium will host Copa America games later this summer, including the final United States group game against Uruguay on July 1. It is also a venue for the 2026 World Cup.
Miami enters Saturday’s game third in the Eastern Conference with 12 points from eight games, two points behind early leaders New York Red Bulls. Messi has scored four goals in four MLS appearances so far this season.
For Sporting KC, seventh in the Western Conference, head coach Peter Vermes admitted it will be hard for his team to treat the game like any other.
‘It will be a great venue for a game like this,’ Vermes said Thursday. ‘There are guys (on SKC) who have never played in front of a crowd that size. But at the end of the day, we have a game to play.
‘I’ve watched (Messi) play since he was very young. I don’t know any team or any coach that has ever devised a game plan that has nullified his unbelievable qualities.’
Many at Arrowhead on Saturday night will hope Vermes fails to find a way, too.
