Messi mania engulfs Miami

Alvarez and his brother Cristian had the original mural with Messi's face painted in the restaurant in 2018, when many people criticized the soccer star for his role in the Argentine national team's poor performance. His idea was to honor him and the resilience he brings, never giving up.

In 2021, they renovated the restaurant in Little Haiti in northeast Miami with another mural of Messi on the same wall, this one by Chilean-American artist Claudio Picasso.

On the walls of another restaurant called Kao Bar & Grill, in the Hallandale Beach area north of Miami Beach, a Messi meme "Anda pa' alla bobo!" ("Go over there, fool!") is depicted along with a giant drawing of the soccer star.

Angry after Argentina's heated victory over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, Messi said those words to a Dutch player who was passing by while he was being interviewed.

Messi, who is known for his calm and cautious way of speaking, repented the comment, which immediately went viral.

"He regretted it, obviously ... but it was left as a joke," said Augusto Falopapas, the artist who drew the meme on the restaurant's wall.

To the south, in Wynwood district, an area near downtown Miami known for its warehouse-turned-art galleries, other artists have painted murals of Messi. One is two giant images of the player, one with a smiling face, the other another running as if in a game. And there are plans for more, including a 10-meter-high mural of Messi kissing the World Cup in an open parking lot.