Lionel Messi grew to become sports' biggest star. Starting now, he's South Florida's own.

Editor’s note: This story tracing Lionel Messi’s rise originally appeared in The Palm Beach Post on May 30, 2010, but is even more pertinent today, as he prepares to debut for David Beckham’s Inter Miami club. This story has been updated to reflect Messi’s successful run with Barcelona, his stint with Paris Saint-Germain and, most importantly, how Messi captured that elusive World Cup by leading Argentina to the championship last December. Now 36, Messi will debut with Inter Miami against Mexico’s Cruz Azul on Friday night at a sold-out DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

FORT LAUDERDALE — The irony of Lionel Messi is impossible to ignore.

As a boy, he was The Dwarf. That wasn't just his nickname but the diagnosis by doctors convinced he would never reach normal size. Even earlier in life, he was The Flea, so seemingly brittle that his mother had to be talked into letting him play soccer with the other 5-year-olds — and then only because the organizer promised to position him near the touchline so that if he got hurt and started crying, she'd be nearby.

Today, no ruler is needed to measure Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi is the ruler.

Messi, long considered the greatest soccer player alive, became what many believe to be the greatest of all time in December when he added the only entry missing from his resume — the World Cup. Still apparently hungry for a new challenge at age 36, he turned down a reported $500 million from Saudi Arabia, instead accepting about $150 million to join Inter Miami. Instantly and without ever stepping foot on a Major League Soccer field, Messi has raised the profile of MLS, with tickets at one point being hawked for $2,000 on the secondary market to witness his first match in Inter Miami pink and black, Friday night against Mexico’s Cruz Azul as part of the Leagues Cup tournament in Fort Lauderdale.

Lionel Messi has unmatched international star power

To say South Florida’s teams have never had an international star of this caliber before is not hyperbole. Not Dan Marino, not LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, not Jaromir Jagr or Pavel Bure, can match Messi's fame on a worldwide scale. That’s why thousands braved a bad electrical storm Sunday, lining up for hours for a mere glimpse of Messi at an introductory bash that Inter Miami billed as “The Unveil.” Messi took the microphone and thanked fans for the warm welcome in Spanish for two, maybe three minutes. It was enough.

“Mes-si! Mes-si! Mes-si!” fans chanted, untold numbers showing up in the familiar blue-and-white stripes and No. 10 jersey of Argentina in Messi’s honor.

Thanks to treatments that helped him grow to 5-foot-7, Messi cemented his place among sports legends in 17 seasons with Barcelona, scoring a club-record 672 goals in 780 appearances. Never only about scoring, Messi also assisted on another 291 goals. But financial constraints at Barcelona forced his exit, leading to two comparatively quiet seasons with Paris Saint-Germain before David Beckham’s constant pursuit paid off.

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“Ten years ago, when I started my journey to build a new team in Miami, I said that I dreamt of bringing the greatest players in the world to this amazing city,” Beckham said. “ … Today that dream came true. I couldn’t be prouder that a player of Leo’s caliber is joining our club, but I am also delighted to welcome a good friend, an amazing person and his beautiful family to join our Inter Miami community. The next phase of our adventure starts here, and I can’t wait to see Leo take to the pitch.”

As Messi rose to fame in Spain, some began asking: Is Messi really the next Pelé, the next Maradona ... or were they the prequels to Messi?

One former Argentina coach, so taken by a Messi goal, once recommended they immediately close down the stadium. That coach happened to be the late Diego Maradona himself. He said Messi "is playing kick-about with Jesus."

Religious metaphors, royal metaphors. They're just as outrageous as defenders trying to match Messi's speed, ball-handling and ability to read the game and create goals for himself and teammates alike. His size might even be an advantage, creating a low center of gravity that enables him to zig while defenders zag.

"The world kneels at the feet of Messi," Spanish newspaper Marca wrote years ago. "First it was Pelé, then Maradona — now welcome the new king."

El Mundo Deportivo, another Spanish paper: "There is only one God: Messi."

Or "Messi-ah." That's what some fans and announcers call him.

Historic signing made on a napkin

Messi isn't one to boast. Fresh in his mind is what it took to arrive at this point, including prescribed daily growth hormone injections costing in the neighborhood of $1,000 per month. Sensing Messi might be a prodigy, his boyhood club in Argentina picked up the tab until the economy collapsed and Barcelona stepped in, uprooting the family to Spain in 2000. There, Messi underwent tests showing he was growing. Seeking financial security, Messi's father gave Barcelona's execs an ultimatum at a bar: Sign my son quickly or we're leaving.

They signed — on a paper napkin.

Rising to become the best in the world, and the fishbowl existence it entails makes unwinding a challenge. Messi says he has "never been one to go out much," although — as Beckham would eventually appreciate — Messi took to vacationing on South Beach. He was said to have two residences in Miami-Dade even before becoming a Floridian.

"He's not what I would call flamboyant," longtime Broward-based soccer entrepreneur Eddie Rodger once said. "He likes to have fun, but what kid at his age doesn't? He is humble and very, very patriotic. He bleeds blue and white."

That was once the sticking point for some Argentines, upset that he hadn’t taken the country to World Cup fame (until 2022, that is) and complaining he spent so much time in Spain. They wondered if he wasn’t more Catalan than Argentine.

"I get angry that they say I don't feel pride in the Argentine shirt," Messi told the Spanish newspaper El Pais years ago.

Hollywood's Pedro Magallanes, who played for Argentina's national team and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, mocked media speculation questioning Messi's patriotism.

"Blah, blah, blah," Magallanes said. "It's all these stupid things. People in Argentina love Messi."

Pep Guardiola: Do not question this man

Just as Messi scoots around defenders as if they were traffic cones, he disposes of critics, such as those who said he couldn't score with his head (until he did) or couldn't score against British clubs (ditto).

"I would advise you not to question Leo," said Pep Guardiola, Messi’s manager at Barcelona and current manager at reigning English Premier League champion Manchester City.

Longtime Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger once called Messi a "PlayStation footballer," a compliment more on target than imagined. Messi loves playing soccer video games.

"Generally, I play as Barcelona or Argentina," he once told The Telegraph. "I'm better in the game than in real life. I do things in the game that would be hard to match on the pitch."

Doubtful. Search Messi and Maradona on YouTube and you'll find a clip of Maradona's famous World Cup goal against England — not the "Hand of God" goal he fisted into the net, but a 65-yard run past six defenders. Synchronized on the YouTube version via split screen: a Messi 65-yard scoring dash past six defenders.

Maradona, always protective of his own legacy, used to respond to comparisons by taking swipes, calling Messi selfish and referring to Barcelona as "Messi FC," as in Messi Football Club. The tunes changed when Maradona became Messi’s coach on the national team.

"Even if I play for a million years, I will never be near to what Maradona was as a footballer," Messi once said.

Coming around, Maradona once told Sport magazine, "Messi is better than me at World Cup '86." Not stunningly, Maradona added: "It is fortunate that Leo was born in Argentina and I can train him. Whoever does not want to understand that, that is their problem."

Clive Toye was the president of the New York Cosmos who brought Pelé to America. Toye believed a World Cup was as essential for Messi’s career resume as it was to Pelé’s.

"Otherwise," Toye once said, "you're regarded as, 'Yeah, he's a very good player, but ... ' "

Toye added, "To find his place among the gods," Toye says, "Messi needs to thread through completely impenetrable defenses a few times, score a few from impossible angles and a few more while being gang-tackled by desperate defenders. All with total composure and complete elan."

In the years since, Messi has accomplished all of the above and then some.

The new frontier, in the United States, awaits now.

Sports reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter  @gunnerhal.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lionel Messi grew to become sports' biggest star. Starting now, he's South Florida's own.