It was not Argentinean soccer superstar Lionel Messi’s first time in Israel, but it was his first time playing in Israel in the French Super Cup — the Trophée des Champions – for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Messi and teammates Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior and Sergio Ramos led PSG to a 4-0 victory against fellow French team FC Nantes at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv on July 31, in front of about 30,000 live fans and millions of viewers in approximately 140 countries.
This is the second year that Bloomfield Stadium has hosted the French Super Cup, an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. The initiative came from philanthropist Sylvan Adams and the Comtec Group in partnership with the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP).
The not-yet-open Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem and its chairman, Larry Mizel, were the game’s official sponsor. Mizel arranged for about 1,000 young Jewish, Muslim and Christian children to be in the stands.
Adams brought PSG players to tour another of his beneficiary projects, Save a Child’s Heart at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, which provides free lifesaving cardiac treatment to children from 64 countries.
In November 2019, Messi made his first visit to Tel Aviv for a friendly between the national teams of Argentina and Uruguay. He also has several business ties in Israel; in September 2020 he signed on as global ambassador for Jerusalem-based OrCam Technologies, whose MyEye artificial vision device discreetly reads printed and digital text aloud from any surface in real time.
Watch the match highlights now! @PSG_inside @PSG_English pic.twitter.com/HQYB5lfkJ4
— Leo Messi ???? (@WeAreMessi) August 1, 2022