Apple TV+ has scored a documentary series on soccer superstar and FIFA World Cup winning player Lionel Messi.
The four-part series, filmed in Paris, Qatar and Argentina, tracks the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner through his five FIFA World Cup appearances and his FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 win, in one of the most nail-biting finals in history. In his own words, Messi tells the story of his career with the Argentina national football team, providing an intimate look at his quest for a World Cup victory.
Less than two weeks before the tournament began, Messi told the series producers: “It would be the ultimate experience to win a World Cup and to be able to close out my career in that way. I’ve daydreamed about it after many years of fighting for it. I made a million possibilities of what could happen… the first match, the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semi-final and the final. I’m also going to live it as something special, because it’s the last one. To finish my last year winning a World Cup would be the dream ending.”
The filmmakers followed Messi throughout the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. From Qatar’s training grounds to press junkets to Messi’s private room, the series provides a mash-up of the public and private worlds of the Messi as well as that of his loyal supporters across Argentina and those who made the journey to Qatar. It charts the path of his first match with the Argentina national football team where he was shown a red card in his first minute, to carrying the weight of a country on his shoulders through several elusive World Cup wins, leading to his early retirement in 2016 and ultimately the comeback to become a FIFA World Cup champion and be crowned the 2022 tournament’s best player.
The series also features personal interviews with Messi, alongside conversations with teammates, coaches, competitors, fans and commentators.
The currently untitled series is produced for Apple by Smuggler Entertainment in association with Pegsa. It is executive produced by Emmy winner Tim Pastore (“Free Solo,” “Jane”), Emmy and Tony winners Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody and Emmy Award winner Matt Renner (“Free Solo,” “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth”) of Smuggler Entertainment, alongside John Henion (“Welcome to Wrexham”) and Juan Camilo Cruz (“In Her Hands”).
