The Messi burger at Times Square’s Hard Rock
The Messi burger at Times Square’s Hard Rock
Since last year, Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi has been a worldwide ambassador for Hard Rock Café. This chain is not only linked to the world of music, but since its inception it has had a close relationship with the world of soccer. In addition, Messi has declared himself a big fan of the firm. He and his whole family were regulars at the Hard Rock Café in Barcelona, Spain. The Hard Rock Café brought a new proposal for this year, a juicy and delicious double beef burger seasoned with Leo Messi’s favorite ingredients. This is a culinary collaboration between the restaurant chain and the Argentine soccer crack that has its own name and that culminates the last action of the Live Greatness campaign, which began in June 2021 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the firm.
The Messi Burger is a reissue of Hard Rock’s classic Steak Burger: a juicy double patty of premium ground beef, seasoned and seared, topped with provolone cheese, sliced Spanish chorizo, caramelized red onion, sliced tomato, romaine lettuce, a couple of sauces (spicy and smoked), all served on a toasted brioche bun. Nine elements that marry perfectly and that can be crowned with a fried egg, to the consumer’s taste, and accompanied by the eternal garnish of any hamburger: seasoned fries. One of the most special characteristics of this burger is that all the ingredients are assembled on the grill, while the meat is roasting, in this way they unify and acquire that characteristic taste of roasting, the provolone melts on the burger, mixes with the caramelized onion and blends with the flavor of the chorizo, achieving a delicious result. The launch of this long-awaited product took place simultaneously in all the cities where Hard Rock Café is located, including Times Square.
The bad thing about the Messi Burger is that it will only be available for a limited time, until May 2022. Hard Rock Café is a restaurant chain that was founded in London in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton. All the premises are decorated with rock cult objects such as guitars from famous groups, costumes, pictures, records, etc. And while typical American food is served, video clips of bands belonging to the genre are displayed. The brand has expanded to major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Paris, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and more. In 2021, soccer player Lionel Messi has partnered with Hard Rock to launch the brand’s LIVE GREATNESS campaign, an initiative built on the fan-centric principles that have guided Hard Rock. Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini is known as Leo Messi or La Pulga, he is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward or midfielder. It started at Newell’s Old Boys, an Argentine club. He was a historical player of the Club Barcelona, Spain which was linked for twenty years. Since 2021, Leo has been part of the Paris Saint-Germain squad in France’s Ligue 1. He is also part of the Argentina national team, a team of which he is the captain and top scorer in history. With the club, Barcelona won 35 titles, including ten from La Liga, four from the UEFA Champions League and seven from the Copa del Rey. He is also considered the best player in the world, having millions of fans and one of the best of all time, he is the only footballer in history who has won, among other distinctions, the Ballon d’Or seven times, six awards from the FIFA to the best player in the world and six Golden Boots. In 2020, he became the first footballer and the first Argentine to receive a Laureus award, as well as being included in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team. Since 2007, Leo has been in a relationship with Antonela Roccuzzo, who have known each other since they were nine years old. She was introduced to him by Lucas Scaglia, her cousin who also played in the lower ranks of Newell’s, an Argentine club, where Messi started. They had a long-distance relationship for three years until, after the World Cup in South Africa, she traveled and settled in Barcelona, where Leo lived.
The player made their courtship public in an interview in January 2009 and, a month later, some photographs of the couple at the carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby were published. The couple married in a civil ceremony at the City Center hotel in Rosario on June 30, 2017. Leo and Antonela have three children, Thiago, 9 years old, Mateo, 6 years old, and Ciro, 4 years old.