Lionel Messi (centre) and his Argentinian teammates watch Washington Wizards’ NBA match against Indiana Pacers at Verizon Center in Washington. (AFP)
Washington: Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi took a break from football on Wednesday, joining Argentinian teammates at the Washington Wizards’ home NBA game against the Indiana Pacers.
Messi posted a photo of the action at the Wizards’ Verizon Center arena on his Instagram account, captioned “viendo basquet”—watching basketball. Plenty of NBA fans in attendance displayed their football savvy, posting pictures of Messi and his teammates on social media sites. The Wizards posted a video clip of the Argentina players arriving at the game in their blue track suits.
A photo of Messi was captioned “our special guest for #WizPacers” although it’s likely the Argentinians were backing countryman Luis Scola and his Pacers, who edged the Wizards 103-101.
Messi and Argentina are due to take on El Salvador in a friendly in Washington tomorrow, with a friendly against Ecuador to follow in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
Although reports earlier this week suggested a right foot injury could be serious enough to prevent Messi from playing in the friendlies, the Argentina Football Association allayed those fears with a report that tests showed all was well. Messi has trained with teammates at Georgetown University this week and will be available for the matches, which are part of Argentina’s preparation for the Copa America later this year.
