Lionel Messi showed his true character behind the scenes in dressing room – 'Shocking'

Former Inter Miami ace Josef Martinez has revealed how Lionel Messi's down-to-earth nature surprised him. Messi has won two trophies with the club, and the Argentine legend has since reunited with several of his former team-mates in Miami.

made waves in July 2023 by signing with David Beckham's , and was swiftly followed by ex-Barcelona pals Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. The superstar's arrival turned fortunes around for Miami, leading them to clinch the 2023 Leagues Cup.

The club secured the Supporters' Shield for the best regular-season record last year, having also brought in Luis Suarez. Their success on the pitch was worlds apart from the team Martinez had joined, but Messi's unassuming character and manners off the pitch most astonished the striker.

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"Everything changed in a day. I swear. It was shocking," Martinez said on the . "You see him sitting there, and he's the most normal person I've ever seen in my life, and he's famous.

"Not even God is as well-known as he is. Seeing him sitting there was something impressive: folding his shirt, matching his uniform with his watch, and shoes with his shirt. He would sit down, and you'd say: 'Wow!' He'd greet you normally."

Martinez also reminisced about the pre-Messi days at Miami, recalling: "When I joined Inter, it was like Combat Club. Honestly, when I joined Inter, neither Messi, Busquets, nor Jordi had arrived. We had lost about 15 matches in a row.

"When we heard that he was coming, everyone was saying: 'No way he's coming.' It was madness. When it became official, we didn't even know he had arrived. We never saw him. We only saw him two days before the Cruz Azul match. We had never seen him enter. I never saw him. And then we went from being the worst team in MLS to being like the of the league."

Martinez and Messi played together on 11 occasions before the Venezuelan striker's move to Montreal in 2024, where he scored 14 goals in 26 games. Although Martinez may have only shared a locker room with the World Cup winner for several months, he was asked what insights he gained from working closely with Messi.

"That, despite being a guy who has won everything, he always arrived first for training. He was great with us, he was great with me," Martinez explained. "And you felt you had to be at his same level.

"There were players who couldn't pass you the ball at this distance. And then, Taylor, for example, not to speak badly of him or anything, but he couldn't score a goal, and with Messi, he became the top scorer, so the level improved. You felt you couldn't be lazy or make mistakes."

The changes at the club were immediate, and Martinez recalled the spotlight quickly being placed on the team. "Before Messi's first training session with us, we were unknown even on ," Martinez admitted. "Not even sports journalists came to our training sessions. I'll tell you, there were 1,000 journalists outside, and we used to see just one journalist when we played away from home.

"Now, 50,000 people outside trying to get into training, and 1,000 journalists. Madness. The coach said: 'we'll have to put on our best and most experienced players because if we put a kid there training, it will be embarrassing'. Then came the famous photo of everyone jogging, but yes, everything changed in a day. It was like being at Real Madrid."

Miami, now coached by Javier Mascherano, have won six of their first 10 MLS games, and sit fourth in the Eastern Conference. The club recently lost to Vancouver Whitecaps in the semi-final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

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