It’s Messi Mania in Vancouver.
The star of Inter Miami, considered to be the greatest living player in football by many, officially approached Vancouver before a key international match against the Whitecaps in Vancouver.
On Wednesday evening, fans flocked to the University of British Columbia where Inter Miami was training, some were trying to pass hedges or climbing in the trees in the hope of catching an overview – only to be rejected by security.
Thursday is the first of the two matches between the teams, the second to play in Miami, who will decide which club goes to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League, where they will compete with a professional team from Mexico.
Inter Miami has not confirmed if Messi will really play.
The CEO and director of the Whitecaps sportsman, Axel Schuster, said that the presence of the star was good news for the game.
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“Seeing this excitement and also to see how football is developing, so how it helps it is a good thing for us, because we do it for many years because we believe in the growth of sport and having more children to do sport will help Whitecaps in the long term,” he said.
Thursday’s match is exhausted, with record club attendance over 54,000.
Tickets still take place on the resale market from the $ 200 range and go up in the thousands.
The football fan Mark Hicken was outside British Columbia early Thursday, in the hope of scoring last-minute tickets.
He said he was waiting to buy this time after buying tickets for the last Vancouver match of Inter Miami – when Messi snubbed the fans while staying in Miami.
“This time, I have waited, perhaps stupidly, to see if Messi would really come to Vancouver,” he said.
“I guess he will not play the whole game. But even if he played for part of the game, it would be a huge amount of excitement.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m., with the BC Place roof which should be open to enjoy the sunny weather.
& Copy 2025 Global News, A Division of Corus Entertainment Inc.