Sony Pictures
Messi stars in a new ad for 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'
Picture LeBron James. Or Tom Brady. Now imagine their voice. Doable, right? Now do the same for Lionel Messi. Odds are you cannot because, as the soccer world remembers every so often, he rarely speaks in public, especially in English.
With Lionel Messi taking center stage at the 2026 World Cup with Argentina and making an appearance in a bizarre yet hilarious commercial for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, both hardcore and casual fans around the world were reminded that Messi never speaks English in public.
Despite not speaking English, Messi’s role in the Spider-Man ad does consist of speaking lines. Those lines, however, were single words such as “si” (three times), “Spider-Man,” and “Como?”
si
spaiderman
si
si
como? https://t.co/8Xoejp3pDi— Jim Halpert Argento (@sapillopillo) June 30, 2026
Lionel Messi’s appearance in a Spider-Man commercial reminded the sports world that he rarely speaks English in public
Messi not speaking English is a relevant topic among soccer fans for a few reasons. The first is that he’s one of the most popular people on planet Earth, so given the endorsement deals someone at that level does, they’d learn to speak English to maximize that earning potential. Ronaldo speaks English, for example.
ever since a friend told me that Messi has never spoken English in public, I have become obsessed with his performances in commercials https://t.co/6iVvWAKCMb
— Bobby Wagner (@bwags) June 30, 2026
“This is the first time I’ve heard Lionel Messi speak English.”
His viral appearance for Bad Boys (2024) was actually a Sony Pictures promo, not part of the actual film.
It also shocked many fans as we witness Messi’s first time speaking English in a public promotional video. pic.twitter.com/eSROwh5x7B
— Movie Moments Analyst (@Movies_analyst) June 29, 2026
Messi not speaking English in any of his ads might be the greatest ongoing bit https://t.co/CAPKtCk1RZ
— SG (@04gully) June 30, 2026
The other reason it gets the sports world’s ears to perk up is that Messi, for as famous as he is, is also quite introverted and reclusive. Even avid soccer fans don’t know much about his personal life nor personality — so the fact that he can’t speak English is likely a massive surprise for the casual fans who only tune into World Cups. There’s also been humorous conspiracy theories that he actually can speak English but he just chooses not to.
In 2024, however, Messi — who’s now been playing in the United States with Inter Miami for three years — confirmed that while he can understand English, he cannot speak it and refrains from trying “out of embarrassment.”
“I understand everything, or almost everything in English. But out of embarrassment I don’t speak – but I think I can actually,” he told Abitare in an interview.
Messi and the Argentina national team will next take to the pitch in the 2026 World Cup when they face off against Cabo Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday, July 3.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo, will be released in theaters on Friday, July 31.