Fans astonished after hearing Lionel Messi speak English ‘for the first time’
Fans were taken aback after hearing Lionel Messi’speak English’ for the first time.
Messi’s first language is Spanish, and he learned Catalan during his glittering stint with Barcelona.
It was long assumed that Messi, who has tormented many teams on these shores in the Champions League, couldn’t speak English.
الاسطوره وفيراتي مع لاعب الخفه الشهير جوليوس دين 🃏💙💙 pic.twitter.com/La9AzmqdC7
— Messi Xtra (@M30Xtra) January 26, 2023
Nobody had ever heard Messi give an interview in English; instead, it was frequently translated and subtitled.
However, according to a viral video, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner may only be able to speak a few words of English.
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Messi is wearing a suit and is being shown tricks by magician Julius Dean, who has 6.7 million Instagram followers and 8.11 million YouTube subscribers.
The Londoner has performed magic for celebrities such as Drake and Post Malone, as well as tennis player Novak Djokovic and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.
And he recently attempted to blow Messi’s mind, who is a magician in his own right. Messi and Verratti had their hands on top of each other as Dean, 27, attempted to explain the trick.
He was initially counting down in Spanish, going “tres, sos, uno” but then said that “I’ve got to practice my Spanish as he spoke to the camera'”.
Messi then appeared to say, “Very nice of you!” to which Verratti cackled.
Above all, it threw social media into overdrive.
“Rare footage of Messi speaking English,” one fan said.
“The greatest English speaker of all time,” said another.
“He finished football and now he is the best speaker of all time goat things,” a third said.
“As a Messi fan, hearing him say that is like him winning the Ballon d’Or,” a fourth said.
“I just realized I’ve never heard him speak English,” said a fifth.
Messi admitted in 2021 that he had been learning English during the time when he was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City.
“I’ve been learning English for a year and a half,” he told Guillem Balague at his PSG debut. But when you’re in England, you learn it by necessity… Yes, exactly. I understand it, but I don’t speak it.”
Synthesia, an AI video software company, recently used its technology to show Messi speaking in multiple languages, including English.
Messi, who is now in his second year in Paris, has reportedly been learning French in order to communicate with his teammates.