Lionel Messi is one of the most popular athletes on the entire planet, and that comes with some caveats. It means fans — both those who support him and those who don’t — are constantly swarming him. His recognizability puts him in potential danger everywhere he goes.
Accordingly, Messi needs protection and relies heavily on bodyguards.
Now stateside and with the Inter Miami squad, David Beckham, who co-owns the MLB club, felt Messi needed increased security. Accordingly, former Navy Seal and MMA fighter, Yassine Chueko, was tasked with the job.
The ultra-ripped Chueko has essentially served as Messi’s shadow and has gone viral for pacing the sidelines, following the Argentinian soccer star’s movements throughout each match.
Messi having an ex-Navy Seal bodyguard follow him around the pitch during Inter Miami games is the definition of power pic.twitter.com/6B5FVqPlec
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 25, 2023
The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran already had a bit of a following prior to serving as security for Messi, amassing more than 140,000 Instagram followers. That number will certainly climb now.
On Saturday night, Inter Miami will visit the Red Bull Arena. In addition to Chueko, extra security measures will be taken.
“We know fans love to jump on the field and get close to Messi sometimes and we’ve seen it before,” Red Bulls general manager Marc de Grandpré told the New York Post. “We’re going to try to mitigate that by adding a lot of folks around the pitch so we keep everyone secure.”
Any fans who even dream of getting close to Messi would have to go through Chueko, which is enough to make anyone reconsider — even if you’ve had a few and are feeling those beer muscles.
