Cleaner was fired after single shift for asking for Lionel Messi’s autograph
A cleaner claims he was fired from his job after asking Lionel Messi for his autograph.
‘Messi Mania’ is taking place in the United States after the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner made the move to MLS with Inter Miami.
Messi was mobbed by fans after leaving a store in Miami, with everyone desperate for a picture and signature from arguably the greatest to ever play the game.
The frenzy has been the same at Inter matches, with employees even trying to meet Messi. A Colombian man Cristian Salamanca was hired by a cleaning company who look after sports venues and had his first shift for Inter’s game against Orlando City in the Leagues Cup round of 32.
Inter won 3-1, with Messi bagging a brace in a fiery Florida derby.
Salamanca wore his new uniform but also had his Argentina shirt underneath and having been positioned in the area for where teams arrive, he saw his opportunity to meet the Barcelona legend.
And that he did, even getting Messi’s autograph on his La Albiceleste jersey – but it came at a cost as his employment was terminated after a single shift.
“I had to clean the bathrooms in the sector where the buses park. Fortunately, I was out there when the bus arrived and all the players got out. The last one was Messi,’ Salamanca told Argentine newspaper La Nacion.
(I) yelled at him: ‘Hey, world champion!’ He turned to look. I lifted up my uniform shirt and I had down the shirt of the Argentine team and a marker.
“He gave me his autograph. Security came right away, they took me out and fired me from my job, but it was worth every second!”
The report states that employees working at the DRV PNK Stadium have been instructed to not bother Messi and remain professional throughout.
Salamanca went against that ruling and was sacked on the spot. His wife, who was working inside the ground, had to collect his belongings.
Messi was involved in another bizarre encounter with a fan recently as a supporter asked him for a kiss while he was driving.
The 36-year-old obliged and planted a peck on the cheek of the youngster.
A fan asked Lionel Messi for a kiss while he was driving in America, he did it
Footage of football legend and current Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi planting a kiss on a fan has emerged as he continues to impress in America.
Messi, 36, completed his switch from Paris Saint Germain to join the MLS side and has wasted no time in asserting his dominance within the new settings, scoring five goals in just three appearances for the club.
Away from his strong showings on the pitch, Messi is dominating headlines as fans clamber the streets of Miami to meet and interact with the man that guided Argentina to their third World Cup win back in December.
Before he was even officially unveiled as the star signing for David Beckham, who co-owns the club, Messi was given a stark reality check as to what life would be like in his new city.
While attempting to leave an Italian restaurant in Miami Beach through the back door with his family, wife Antonela
Roccuzzo and their three sons.
Messi was quickly swamped by his new supporters, with one eager fan planting a kiss on the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
While this incident arrived just over a month ago, the frenzy is yet to subside as fans continue to swarm whenever and wherever Messi arrives.
Leading to the most recent event, where one fan approached Messi in his car and asked for a kiss. To which Messi bizarrely obliged, although looking uncomfortable whilst doing so.
The Argentinian forward will now be looking to forget the hectic atmosphere off the pitch, as he prepares for the Herons’ Leagues Cup round of 16 clash against FC Dallas on Monday morning (2:30am kick-off UK time).
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