"Why are they wearing the same clothes?": Internet compares Lionel Messi & wife's appearance on Coldplay's jumbotron to Andy Byron scandal

On Sunday, July 27, Lionel Messi was spotted at the Coldplay concert in Miami along with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo. During the event, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner was shown on the jumbotron, urging netizens on X to draw comparisons with the recent Coldplay kiss-cam scandal, featuring ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR head Kristin Cabot.

For the unversed, Byron and Cabot made headlines on July 16 after a clip of the two from Coldplay's Boston concert went viral on social media. Chris Martin was quick to joke about the two as they tried to evade the camera, saying:

“Either they're having an affair, or they're very shy.”

Shortly after the incident, TMZ released another video showing the two individuals seemingly kissing while the Chris Martin-led band performed Yellow on stage. It was followed by Byron's wife, Kerrigan Byron, dropping her last name from her Facebook profile, and Andy resigning as the CEO of Astronomer.

Lionel Messi & Antonela Roccuzzo's jumbotron clip was quick to take off on X, drawing several quips and comparisons with the Andy Byron scandal. X user @aranalvarez_ noted that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and his wife were dressed like the Astronomer couple.

"Why are they wearing the same clothes?" pointed out the user on X.

"They were trying to get in touch with the characters properly," quipped another.

"It‘s the opposite of Messi. Messi is a family and loves only one woman for decades and lives happily. Watch and learn," another netizen commented.

Other netizens theorized that Lionel Messi was trolling Andy Byron.

"I really think Messi is trolling them atp," one user commented.

"Looks lke Messi doesn't like him so he tried to mock him by modelling him with same wears and same place. Ain't a nice thing if I say," opined a user.

"The difference is Messi and Antonela are a truly happy couple. No PR, no pretending. Just real love," a fan wrote.

"At least the man in white brought his wife to the concert for a change," a user commented.

Some other reactions stated on X, the footballing legend wanted to re-enact the moment.

"Messi had an opportunity to do the ultimate re-enactment and bottled it man," a fan joked.

"Messi is funny guy. He didn't know how to do a affair, so asked is wife," wrote another.

"They wanted to re create the iconic moment. But one basic flaw . The relationship is legit here," inferred another user on X.

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Antonela Roccuzzo: Everything to know about Lionel Messi's wife

Argentina v France: Final - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Source: Getty

Lionel Messi married Antonela Roccuzzo on June 30, 2017. The talismanic Argentine currently has three sons with his wife, Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. The two have known each other since they were toddlers in Argentina's Rosario. Antonela is the cousin of Lionel Messi's childhood friend, Lucas Scaglia.

While the Argentine superstar ended up moving to Barcelona to play football in La Masia, Roccuzzo stayed in South America. However, they didn't lose contact, with Lionel Messi flying back to Rosario to support her after the loss of her best friend in a 2005 car accident (as reported by Para Ti).

Messi went public with his relationship in 2009, when he was asked if he had a girlfriend on the Hat Trick Barca program on TV3. While he didn't explicitly specify the name, it seemingly suggests that he was referring to Roccuzzo.

"Yes, I have a girlfriend. She is in Argentina. The truth is that I am well and I am relaxed."

Antonela studied dentistry and social communication at the University of Rosario before moving to Barcelona to be with Messi ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa (as per SPORT). Currently, she is a professional model and social media influencer with over 40 million followers on Instagram, having worked with high-profile brands such as Adidas, Alo, and Stella McCartney, among others.

In November 2012, Antonela gave birth to their eldest son, Thiago. Three years later, their middle child, Mateo, was born. In 2017, the two tied the knot at the Rosario Downtown Building in their hometown. A year later, their youngest child, Ciro, was born.

Lionel Messi has frequently spoken about his wife and her impact on his life. In a 2024 interview with ESPN journalist Martin Arevalo, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner elaborated on her importance in his life, saying (translated from Spanish via Google):

"Defining everything she means to me… anything I say will fall short. She is very important and she is everything for me."

Shortly after their wedding, Messi raved about his wife in an interview on FC Barcelona's official channel, saying:

"My wife, Antonela, has lots of great qualities. I really admire how she deals with the day to day, she is always in a good mood and she approaches problems admirably. She is highly intelligent and well rounded in all aspects of life."

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Lionel Messi and his family are currently in Miami, where Lionel Messi plays for Inter Miami. At present, the talismanic Argentine is in sizzling form for the Herons, having scored eight goals and created two more in his last five club games across competitions.