He watched from a covered stand behind one of the goals, a black hoodie pulled up, a mate in his hand and his son Mateo next to him.
No team sheet, no microphone, no interview. Lionel Messi was simply at the football.
The match was Leones de Rosario FC against Central Córdoba de Rosario, on Saturday 25 July, at the Antonio Di Giácomo stadium in Arroyo Seco, a town south of Rosario.
It was a Primera C fixture, the Argentine fourth division, and it was the 39-year-old’s first public sighting since Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final in East Rutherford six days earlier, decided by a Ferran Torres goal in the 106th minute after Enzo Fernández was sent off in stoppage time.
Read also: Pogacar heads home to storm-hit Komenda three days after fifth Tour title
Leones lost 2-0.
The club his brother runs
Leones de Rosario is not a random amateur side. It is a family project: his older brother Matías Messi is the club’s president.
The club was founded in 2015 and this is its first season in the Primera C Metropolitana after gaining Argentine Football Association affiliation.
Before kick-off, the club posted an unusually informal welcome on social media.
Read also: FIFA's £15 billion World Cup sell-off plan sparks 'nuclear bomb' warning
“¡Hola, Leo! Pasá que te estábamos esperando.” (Hello, Leo, come in, we were waiting for you.)
Mate in hand, no camera in front
Argentine reporters at the ground picked him out in the covered stand within minutes. La Nación wrote that he watched with Mateo and other relatives, sipping mate through the game.
After the final whistle he acknowledged the small group of supporters who had gathered near him, then left quickly and avoided posing for photographs.
No interview. No statement. No comment on the final.
Read also: Infantino praised Argentina as England waited for answers over World Cup provocation
The Primera C table was not the point. In the week after the biggest match of his career had ended in defeat, Messi’s first choice of ground was the one where his brother was in the directors’ box.
Read also: Promise kept: Cucurella has De la Fuente's face tattooed on his elbow
