CHICAGO - Area man and part-time soccer fan Lionel Messi admitted that despite his deep Chicago ties that he can only root for Barcelona in soccer.
"DA BULLS are number 1 DA BEARS are number 1! DA BARCELONA més que un club!"
"I love my Derrick Rose, I love my Michael Jordan, I love my Walter Payton and Ditka, I even have a bit of love for Frank Thomas, but I have to get down with Barcelona as my club team," stated Mr Messi of Englewood to The Nutmeg News as he walked around in his Derrick Rose full kit while on vacation.
Reportedly, Mr. Messi got into soccer when a friend of his loaned him his copy of FIFA 2007 with Landon Donovan on the cover.
"Yeah, Lando. I remember that cover. Really got me into soccer, and then I played with that Barcelona team and it convinced me that I was a fan for life. Ronaldinho, Henry, Milito, Deco, Xavi, man that was a fun team to play with, on console."
Mr. Messi stated that he I just can't pull for a team within MLS or the Chicago Fire despite his deep Chicago roots saying, "They don't represent me. I just can't cheer for them. You think I'm going to watch that league over La Liga? I want to watch the best players in the world, and that's the kind of players that play on Barcelona."
The Nutmeg News will have more on this as we challenge Mr. Messi to name the entire Barcelona roster as a sign of his true fan credential.