Giannis Antetokounmpo Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: NBA superstar trolls Lionel Messi before Inter Miami match

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated 8/19/23

Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly knows his futbol.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Antetokounmpo was in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday to watch Nashville S.C. take on Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in an MLS match. Antetokounmpo is a minority owner of Nashville S.C., along with his brothers Alex, Thanasis, and Kostas.

Before the match, Antetokounmpo had some fun and punched in a long-range goal for the fans. To celebrate his strike, Antetokounmpo ran to the center of the pitch and offered his version of Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature “SIUUUUUU!” celebration (which Ronaldo does after scoring goals).

Here is the video, courtesy of ESPN FC.

Nashville SC minority owner Giannis hit Ronaldo's "SIU' celebration before his team takes on Messi and Inter Miami pic.twitter.com/HJPsgLhwuN

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 20, 2023

That celebration was no coincidence, as Ronaldo is seen as Messi’s greatest career rival. The two players won every single Ballon d’Or award (given to the best player in the world for a given year) from 2008-17 and are usually No. 1 and No. 2, in some order, when it comes to soccer GOAT debates. Ronaldo and Messi also directly competed for many years on Real Madrid (for Ronaldo) and F.C. Barcelona (for Messi), the two biggest powerhouse clubs in Spain.

As for Antetokounmpo, he is a lifelong soccer fan whose father was a soccer player in Nigeria and who was recently even playfully recruited by a soccer team in Saudi Arabia . Antetokounmpo knew exactly what he was doing by busting out that celebration, as he will definitely be rooting for his Nashville S.C. squad to take down Messi and Inter Miami on Saturday.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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