Inter Miami is not the inaugural team to honor Lionel Messi by naming a stand after him.
Editor’s note: This article was first published on June 25, 2025 and has since been updated
While his status among the all-time greats is already firmly established, Lionel Messi took another stride toward legendary status this week when Inter Miami revealed they would be dedicating a section of the club’s new Nu Stadium in his name, introducing the Leo Messi Stand.
Nevertheless, Messi’s childhood club Newell’s Old Boys outpaced the reigning MLS champions by honoring him with a stand last year.
The Rosario-based club made their significant announcement on June 24 last year, coinciding with Messi’s 38th birthday. A portion of their stadium will forever bear one of the most renowned names in Argentine football history.
Nearly every area of the stadium known as El Coloso (“The Colossus”) is adorned with tributes to club legends. It was renamed Estadio Marcelo Bielsa in 2009 to celebrate the accomplishments of the famously unconventional coach who led Newell’s to a Primera División title in 1991.
Former Newell’s player and coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino has the western concourse of the stadium named in his honor. Additionally, there is a stand named after former Atlético Madrid and Liverpool midfielder Maxi Rodríguez, who received this recognition to coincide with his 40th birthday in 2021 after spending a total of nine years at Newell’s across three different periods.
Messi is once again in the company of the late Diego Maradona, whose brief (and rather unremarkable) season at Newell’s in the early 1990s was sufficient for the south stand to be named after him.
For the record, Messi’s long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo will, for the time being, have to settle for having his name displayed at Sporting CP’s training facility and C.D. Nacional’s academy.
To commemorate Messi receiving his first stadium-based accolade to add to his extensive collection of career honors and awards, here’s a timely overview of other prominent figures in the sport who have been similarly recognized.
Diego Maradona
In addition to a stadium at Newell’s Old Boys, Maradona has had not one, but two venues renamed in his honor. The first was the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, home of Argentinos Juniors, the club where the young Maradona made his professional debut in 1976. Not that he required any additional recognition, but the legendary No. 10 was further immortalized when Napoli renamed their Stadio San Paolo in his honor following his passing in 2020.
Pelé
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Brazil’s own footballing legend, Pelé can also claim to have a stadium named in his honor in the relatively modest form of the Estádio Rei Pelé (King Pelé Stadium). This venue is situated in the state of Maceio and serves as a home base for two local lower-league teams: Clube de Regatas Brasil of Serie B and Centro Sportivo Alagoano of Serie C.
Ferenc Puskás
In addition to having his name associated with FIFA’s annual award for the most beautiful goal scored worldwide in any given year, Hungary and Real Madrid icon Ferenc Puskás also has a 67,000-seat stadium in Budapest named after him. The arena was completed in 2019 after being reconstructed on the site of the former national team’s home.
Johan Cruyff
Previously known as the Amsterdam Arena, Ajax made the overdue decision to rename their stadium in tribute to the club’s greatest-ever player, and the coach who arguably did more than anyone else to shape what we now recognize as the modern game. Consequently, the stadium was renamed the Johan Cruyff Arena ahead of the 2018-19 season, two years after Cruyff’s passing.
Arsène Wenger
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While Arsenal continues to utilize straightforward stand names such as the North Bank, East Stand, Clock End, and West Stand at the Emirates, it was a small regional team in France that chose to honor Wenger, who grew up nearby and managed Arsenal’s “Invincibles,” by naming their new 500-capacity home stadium after him. This venue, built on a former potato field, opened in 2016.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton
While plans are underway for a new home for Manchester United, Old Trafford still stands, with a significant 50% of the stadium named after two of the club’s most pivotal figures. The North Stand was renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in 2011 to mark Fergie’s 25th year in charge of United (along with a statue of the long-serving manager being erected on the concourse outside). The grand unveiling of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand (formerly the South Stand) took place in 2016 on the 60th anniversary of Charlton’s professional debut for the club.
Sir Kenny Dalglish
Four decades after he first joined Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish had his immense contributions to the club recognized in 2017 with the unveiling of a stand named in his honor at Anfield. The elegant Scottish forward made over 500 appearances for the Reds, netted 172 goals, secured six titles and three European Cups, and later returned to win three additional First Division titles as manager, among numerous other cups, honors, and inspiring charitable endeavors. It is no surprise they refer to him as The King.
Didier Drogba
Having played youth football for French amateur club Levallois at the age of 15, Drogba was understandably honored when his former club chose to name their stadium after him in 2010. The ex-Chelsea forward spent four formative years with Levallois before moving to league side Le Mans, where he made his professional debut in 1998. A transfer to Marseille followed before he arrived at Stamford Bridge, where the Ivory Coast international won four Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Fernando Torres
Born and raised in the suburbs of Madrid, Torres made a name for himself in the youth ranks at Atlético Madrid as a promising young talent, earning the nickname El Niño that stayed with him throughout his career. To commemorate the hometown hero’s rise to prominence, local club CF Fuenlabrada renamed their multi-purpose stadium after Torres in 2011, and to top it off, the World Cup and double Euros-winning Spain striker’s parents were invited as guests of honor to the inaugural match—a friendly against Atlético.
Dwight Yorke
When Trinidad & Tobago required a new stadium for the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship, they opted to construct one just outside the Tobagonian capital of Scarborough. Who better to honor than the Caribbean nation’s most famous and successful footballing export? The Dwight Yorke Stadium, which pays tribute to the striker who was still active with Manchester United at the time, remains in use today and serves as the home for the local amateur team.
