Unlike Diego Maradona, whose notorious ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in 1986 made him a villain in the eyes of many Englishmen, Lionel Messi does not have the reputation of a hate figure.
This is partly because the little Argentinian star had never faced the Three Lions until he won the World Cup semi-final clash between the two nations.
But there is also the fact that, in contrast to El Diego, the Inter Miami star is just a far less controversial figure.
Messi is the type of player who sips mate tea and gets to bed early; he rarely gets into scraps on the field other than the odd incident of calling an opponent a ‘donkey.’
So, we wanted to see how the diehard England fans would respond to a giant ‘Lionel Messi’ in Atlanta ahead of the crunch game between the two sides.
Having acquired a three-foot cutout of the great man’s head in a Miami sports shop, we created a real-life version of one of those big-headed collectibles popular with children.
The first stumbling block was that turning a cardboard face into a mask was not as easy as we thought.
We didn’t want to puncture holes all over Messi’s face to make eyeholes or pull through a band, so we devised a different plan: we’d attach a Halloween mask to the back at an angle.
But walking into a giant Walmart, the plan hit a snag. With it being the middle of July, the supply of fancy dress gear was limited.
When I asked two employees if they had any Halloween masks, they gave me a look of bemusement.
“Hmmm, I think I know what he wants it for,” said the sassier of the two staff members, tilting her chin. I tried to explain the real reason, but they both seemed unconvinced.
Fortunately for me, children’s face masks are sold all year round and are apparently available in sizes large enough to fit full-grown adults.
So, I bought a Thor superhero helmet, some quick-setting adhesive glue, and a roll of Gorilla tape, and got to work making the cutout into a mask.
It worked, but with one major drawback: I could only see about three feet in front of me while wearing the giant head.
If anyone launched themselves or an object at me, I’d have no chance to react; I’d be completely at the mercy of the England fans.
Nevertheless, I pulled on the mask and made my way past the crowds outside the Hudson Grille in Atlanta.
As soon as the fans saw me—or at least as much as I could tell they did—boos rang out from the crowd.
“You cheating b*****d,” one man shouted, which I thought was a bit unfair on old Lionel, who might have got some favourable decisions but is hardly known for the dark arts.
As I made my way down the line, the fans responded by celebrating England’s own superstar, belting out Hey Jude in honour of Jude Bellingham.
I couldn’t see, but my colleague assured me they were also leaning out of the balcony, pointing fingers and shouting, “f*** off.”
These moments were broken up by happy Argentinians and a few Americans stopping to have pictures with the giant-headed Messi.
A few wrapped their arms around me and started speaking in Spanish.
It all ended with a man with a northern accent shouting that we were a “f******* embarrassment.”
With that, we decided to cut our losses and leave. It was hard to see where I was going, and I didn’t much fancy bumping into something or being forced to the ground.
I think it’s safe to say that, while he might not prompt adoration before a crunch match between the two sides, Lionel Messi is definitely not the type of hate figure the last great Argentinian star, Diego Maradona, was.
They might even wish him well in the final. Maybe.
