Inter Miami's Lionel Messi will soon have a stand named after him at their new Nu Stadium, joining an exclusive club of football greats honored with stadium sections. However, Messi's boyhood club Newell's Old Boys in Argentina beat the reigning MLS champions to the punch, announcing a stand in his honor last year. The Rosario-based club, renamed Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, already features tributes to legends like Diego Maradona and Maxi Rodríguez.

While Messi's global stature is immense, this sequence highlights how stadium honors often precede major club announcements, cementing a player's legacy within a club's history. The move underscores the growing trend of naming permanent sections after modern football icons, though Newell's Old Boys' earlier gesture shows the honor predates Inter Miami's announcement.