Lionel Messi’s Publix trip was an ‘orchestrated’ stunt: Alexi Lalas

Lionel Messi’s grocery trip may have been a publicity stunt.

Ahead of the soccer star’s debut with his new squad, Inter Miami of the MLS, Messi was recently seen shopping at Publix with his family – but according to FOX soccer analyst Alexi Lalas, the grocery trip was actually a staged event by Messi’s PR team.

“One of the things that they did was — when I say ‘did’ it’s because it was absolutely orchestrated — Messi was in his new town and what do you do when you’re in a new town? You stock the refrigerator,” Lalas said. “’Lo and behold, he turns up at a Publix. For those who don’t know, Publix is a ubiquitous grocery store down in that neck of the woods. And lo and behold, he is seen there with a cart full of stuff that he is going to stock in his refrigerator.

“It takes a couple of clicks to go to the Inter Miami website and pull up their corporate partners and woah! Amazing! Publix! There it is! Brilliant, by the way. I loved every orchestrated second of it. But this is part of the give-and-take and this is part of what Messi brings to this situation. You better access that and use that at every opportunity you get, with reason. And done the right way you can maximize the presence of Messi on and off the field.”

If the shopping trip was indeed a publicity stunt, it certainly worked, as Messi was seen snapping pictures with fans inside the supermarket.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was seen stocking up on cereals for his new home in Miami, alongside his wife, Antonela, as well as their three sons, Thiago, 10, Mateo, 7, and Ciro, 5.

The only member of the Messi family missing from the excursion was their dog, Hulk, a French Mastiff.

During the shopping trip, Messi was seen in a casual black t-shirt, white shorts, and clear slides – appropriately dressed for the Miami heat.

His outfit also showed off some of his tattoos, most notably the tattoo on his lower left leg that has his son Thiago’s handprints as a baby and a tattoo on his lower right leg that has the birthdates of Messi’s wife and kids.

The Argentine has little time to adjust to life in Miami, however, as he will be suiting up for action with Inter Miami on Friday, July 21, when the team takes on Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.

The 36-year-old will be rocking a new jersey with the primary colors of Inter Miami being pink and black.

Messi and his squad will then face Atlanta on July 25, also a part of the Cup play.