“Thank you Messi for paying for my ACL surgery" - MLS club's fan claims she can afford surgery after selling ticket for game against Inter Miami
A New York Red Bulls fan has thanked Lionel Messi for indirectly helping her afford her ACL surgery. The fan, named Amanda Libre, revealed that she sold her ticket for NY Red Bulls' encounter against Inter Miami for a big profit and that helped her with the surgery.
Libre is a NY Red Bulls season ticket holder, and her side are set to host Inter Miami on Saturday, August 26. As Messi moved to Major League Soccer (MLS), the ticket prices for Inter Miami matches sky-rocketed with the fan claiming some are going for around $700.
“Thank you Messi for paying for my anterior cruciate ligament surgery, I'm happy,” she said (reported via Barca Worldwide).
Libre further detailed that she wanted to sell the ticket as she had seen Messi play live in the past and would thus not be disappointed to miss out on the match.
“I have season tickets for Red Bull games and I usually go to all of them but I noticed as soon as they even started talking about Lionel Messi signing for Inter Miami, the tickets for the Miami game started to go up like crazy."
She added:
“I'm just in the supporter's section behind the goal, which is the cheapest ticket and some of them are on sale for like $700 but I just wanted to sell it. I've seen Lionel Messi play before when I saw him practice for a game between Argentina and Brazil. So I'm not too disappointed to miss the game - I will just watch it on the TV.”
Amanda Libre, a NY Red Bulls season ticket holder will now be able to afford her surgery after selling her ticket for their game vs inter miami.
🗣️ Amanda: “Thank you Messi for paying for my anterior cruciate ligament surgery, I'm happy.”
🗣️ Amanda: “I have season tickets for… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… pic.twitter.com/W3TZd1x8Mh
Messi is yet to make his MLS debut, with the league season set to resume only later this month. He is expected to first feature in the United States' premier club football competition against NY Red Bulls in the aforementioned encounter.
Lionel Messi has enjoyed a brilliant start to life with Inter Miami
While Messi is yet to play in the MLS, he has featured in four Leagues Cup matches for Inter Miami. The Argentina international chose the MLS over a possible return to Barcelona and a reported move to Saudi Arabia.
He made his debut for his new club against Cruz Azul and scored in injury time from a free-kick to give his side a 2-1 win. He then scored twice in Inter Miami's 4-0 win over Atlanta United and 3-1 win over Orlando City in consecutive matches.
Messi didn't stop there and scored another brace in his fourth appearance for the MLS side. It came against FC Dallas in an encounter that finished 4-4 in normal time and Miami eventually won 5-3 on penalties with the Argentine converting his spot-kick.
He is next expected to feature in their Leagues Cup quarterfinals encounter against Charlotte on Friday, August 11.