Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi taken to the turf as fans race onto field in Puerto Rico

Lionel Messi was taken to the ground during a friendly Thursday night when a pitch invader wrapped his arms around the Inter Miami star and a member of the security staff then tackled the intruder.

In the 89th minute of Inter Miami’s game against a Ecuardorian club at Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a handful of fans raced onto the playing field. One fan, wearing a No. 10 jersey, sidled up to Messi and appeared to use his phone to take a photo of the two while Messi signed the back of another fan wearing a No. 10 jersey.

A shirtless fan who had eluded capture despite falling near midfield earlier in his parade on the field then ran to Messi from behind and wrapped the Argentina legend in a hug around the waist. One of the security personnel who had been pursuing the shirtless man grabbed him and took him and Messi to the ground. Messi stood up shortly thereafter, unscathed.

Everyone’s invading the pitch to meet Leo Messi 😅😅 pic.twitter.com/GJwgcVdCCZ

— We Are Messi 🔟 (@WeAreMessi) February 27, 2026

The referee added two minutes of stoppage time for the delay resulting from spectators on the field.

Messi, who entered the game after halftime with the score 1-1, scored on a penalty kick in the 70th minute for the tiebreaking goal in Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory over Independiente del Valle, which plays in LigaPro Serie A, Ecuador’s highest league.

The match was an exhibition game that originally was part of Inter Miami’s preseason but was rescheduled to Thursday night. Miami lost its MLS season opener to LAFC last weekend and will be in league action again Sunday, when it visits Florida rival Orlando City.

Fans stealing onto the field to get close to Messi isn’t new. It happened in June 2020 during a LaLiga game between Messi’s Barcelona team and Mallorca that was closed to spectators.

Messi’s Inter Miami team won the MLS Cup last season, his third in the league. He won the league’s Most Valuable Player award each of the last two seasons.