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Soccer legend Lionel Messi was tackled to the ground during a friendly match in Puerto Rico on Thursday
It happened around the 88th minute of an exhibition tournament match. Several fans jumped onto the pitch at the Juan Ramón Loubriel stadium. Messi’s team, Inter Miami, were playing Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle in Bayamón when a fan ran to the center circle and grabbed Messi by the waist before both were pulled down by a security guard.
Messi appeared to be unharmed. The Argentine star immediately got up and went to another part of the pitch.
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A fan is chased by security guards after jumping onto the pitch to greet Lionel Messi during a friendly match between Independiente del Valle and Inter Miami on February 26, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Leopoldo Smith/Getty Images)
Messi’s security guard situation has been the subject of fan fascination for years, especially after he came to the United States to join Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami.
His main bodyguard, Yassine Chueko, has gone viral in previous years for hovering attentively over Messi while the star played football. However, in 2025, Inter Miami changed Chueko’s role to prevent him from being on the pitch to protect Messi from attackers.
Chueko expressed concern and frustration at the decision and warned that it could result in Messi being tackled.
Lionel Messi’s bodyguard took down overzealous fans. (Getty Images)
“They don’t allow me to be on the pitch anymore,” the bodyguard said in an interview with social media channel House of Highlights.
“I was in Europe for seven years working for Ligue 1 and the Champions League and only six people invaded the pitch. I came to the United States and in just 20 months 16 people have already done it. There is a huge problem here. I am not the problem. Let me help Messi.”
An Inter Miami team spokesman previously told ESPN that it was a club decision, not MLS’s, not to have Cheuko on the sidelines. However, Cheuko remains employed at the club and part of the security detail, escorting Messi on a daily basis.
Now, at the start of 2026, a pitch invader has successfully reached Messi on the pitch and brought the 38-year-old superstar to the ground, in Cheuko’s absence.
Thursday’s game was originally scheduled for February 13, but was postponed because Messi felt discomfort in his leg during the previous exhibition match against Barcelona SC in Ecuador.
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A fan is detained by security guards after jumping onto the pitch to greet Lionel Messi during a friendly match between Independiente del Valle and Inter Miami on February 26, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Leopoldo Smith/Getty Images)
Santiago Morales and Messi scored in the 16th and 70th minutes respectively to give Inter Miami a 2-1 win.
Miami, which started its MLS season with a 3-0 loss to LAFC, faces Orlando City next Sunday.
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