Cavan Sullivan got to meet his ‘idol’ Lionel Messi, and got a photo with him to treasure

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It was just a fleeting moment in a sport full of them. And it happened after a game, not during one, so the only cameras rolling were the ones that knew to look for it.

But it did happen, and that’s all that matters: Cavan Sullivan, the Union’s teen phenom, got to meet Lionel Messi, soccer’s greatest of all time who calls Inter Miami home these days.

They posed for a photo on the field at Chase Stadium after the Union’s 3-1 loss to the Herons on Saturday, a game Sullivan could only watch from the bench as Messi starred.

“I couldn’t even fall asleep, I just kept looking at the picture we took together,” Sullivan told The Inquirer a day later, after a game he did play in: the Union reserve team’s 3-2 loss to Miami’s reserves on the same field. “I made sure to get the photographer to send it to me ASAP, because I knew I wanted that really fast, and saved it in my [phone’s] camera roll.”

» READ MORE: Even if the Union keep playing this well, they still might run out of time to make the playoffs

As he lay awake at the hotel, Sullivan posted a photo of the meeting on his Instagram story, calling Messi “my idol.”

Sullivan also posted an item from his personal collection: a 2017 trip to Barcelona, where Messi played at the time, and a visit to the Spanish superpower’s museum at the famed Camp Nou stadium.

A 7-year-old Sullivan, wearing a Barcelona jersey and a backward ball cap, stood next to a case that held Messi’s 2015 Ballon D’Or trophy as the world’s best player — the fifth of the record eight times he won the award. Messi loomed over the scene in poster form on a wall behind the case, celebrating one of his many goals.

“It was pretty awesome,” Sullivan said. “It was my first European stadium that I visited, so I got a taste of what Spain was like.”

» READ MORE: Lionel Messi had a grand return from injury at the Union’s expense as Inter Miami remain MLS’ best

There have already been many more trips to European stadiums, including those of big teams that have scouted him. And the continent will become Sullivan’s home when the 14-year-old joins the English Premier League’s Manchester City after turning 18.

For now, though, Sullivan is still in his first season as a pro. He has made just one appearance for the Union’s first team, spending most of his playing time with the reserves.

“I asked him if he was over it [meeting Messi] when I saw him this morning in the hotel. I don’t think so,” Union reserve team coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “He was still buzzing. … I thought it was a pretty cool moment. He got his picture, and who knows the next time he’ll see him again.”

LeBlanc also spoke on the more serious subject of Sullivan’s development.

“There were guys on this field today that were 25 years old, and he’s 14, and he’s out here competing with them,” he said. “He’s progressing really well. He’s really hard to deal with.”

» READ MORE: A potential meeting of Cavan Sullivan and Lionel Messi was too tempting to ignore

The coaching staff tries to ensure that Sullivan doesn’t overdo it on the field, a trap that any teen could easily fall into.

“Him or everybody?” LeBlanc quipped, knowing his squad is full of promising youngsters. But they all know who is already the most famous.

“He’s everybody’s marked man,” LeBlanc said of Sullivan. “Nobody wants to get shown up by a 14-year-old, and then everybody wants to humble a 14-year-old when they play against him.”

It looked like Sullivan and Messi had a brief conversation during Saturday’s encounter. Alas, Sullivan didn’t remember much of what was said amid the usual commotion of a postgame scene.

He also had a more pressing matter to attend to when he spoke Sunday night. He got elbowed on his left ear early in the second half of Sunday’s game, wore a big bandage for the rest of his time on the field, and after his remarks he went to a local hospital to get stitches.

» READ MORE: Why Cavan Sullivan, hyped as the world’s best 14-year-old soccer player, chose to turn pro with the Union

But it was enough that at some point, someone got the word to Messi that Sullivan was worth stopping for. The photo quickly went viral Saturday night.

“When you’re playing at the level I was throughout my whole academy days, you don’t have many goals besides developing and focusing on the next training, the next game,” Sullivan said. “But one of my biggest goals ever was to share the field with him. I’ve watched him live once, and I was in the stands to do it, and to finally meet him was pretty amazing.”

That “once” was in the Leagues Cup last year at Subaru Park, when Messi led a 4-1 Miami rout in his first visit to the Philadelphia area. The Union played much better in Saturday’s game, but still were on the losing end after Messi scored twice and assisted the third.

Might Sullivan get the chance to play against Messi someday? And when will the Union be good enough to beat Messi’s team?

Sullivan knows those questions aren’t easy to answer. He’d have to be ready for the Union’s first team next year, the rest of the squad would have to deliver, and Messi would have to be there.

» READ MORE: Union phenom Cavan Sullivan gets seal of approval from Bryce Harper: ‘You’re legit, dude’

That last clause matters — and it’s part of why the photo opportunity mattered. Messi is 37, and his contract with Inter expires after next year. Though he hasn’t said when he’ll retire, Messi has said Miami will be his last club. It remains to be seen whether he’ll try to play in the 2026 World Cup.

There might not be many more moments for Sullivan and Messi to be on the same field, just as there will only be so many moments left for fans to watch Messi play. So when Sullivan had the chance, he knew he had to take it.

“I have pictures of me watching his YouTube clips on the kitchen counter in my house,” said Sullivan, originally of Philadelphia’s Bridesburg neighborhood and now of Norristown. “I never even thought that I would meet him — I figured he would be retired by then. But to be rostered and finally meet him in this awesome stadium was pretty crazy.”

» READ MORE: Is Cavan Sullivan really that good? Here’s what to know about the Union academy and its teen phenom.

Sullivan has done well at adapting to stardom at his young age, helped by his family and a Union coaching staff that knows how to develop him properly. There’s no doubt, though, that he has already enjoyed some trappings of fame: attracting a crowd in Sea Isle City, cleats co-branded by adidas and Prada, and an adidas photo shoot in June with U.S. women’s star Trinity Rodman.

Where does meeting Messi rank? Sullivan’s answer was no surprise.

“He’s the one that really stood out to me, and that one really hit me last night,” he said. “As you go up the levels, you’re going to meet better players and be around cool people, but I think he’s the coolest so far.”