As the world’s foremost football star, Lionel Messi is understandably protective of his image. The Argentinian forward carefully picks and chooses whom he is associated with, and has signed lucrative long-term deals with enormous global brands, such as Adidas, Pepsi, and Mastercard.
That is why many were surprised when, in 2020, he announced a partnership with OrCam, a relatively small Israeli A.I. firm that makes wearable artificial vision devices (similar to Google Glass). OrCam markets itself as helping visually impaired people live more fulfilling lives. Messi became its global brand ambassador and the face of the company.
The Argentinian has made multiple visits to Israel during his career. In 2013, he and his club, F.C. Barcelona, went to Israel and Palestine on a supposed “Peace Tour.” During his trip, he met and talked with Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, and glad-handed with IDF soldiers. He also donned a yarmulke and visited the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism.
Even after leaving, however, Messi takes a small part of Israel with him everywhere he goes. His security is handled by an elite force of former Israeli agents, who plan his every move, especially internationally. He takes his security very seriously, even missing his sister-in-law’s wedding in Argentina due to safety concerns.
Those same Israeli forces were in charge of security at his own 2017 wedding, ESPN reports, although it did not detail whether those agents are from the Mossad, Shin Bet, or an elite commando group.
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