Lionel Messi has added another star to his long list of career highlights. The Argentina captain appeared alongside Tom Holland in a new promotional video for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and the internet cannot stop talking about it.
Sony Pictures released the clip on Tuesday evening as Messi continues his World Cup campaign with Argentina. The video opens in a New York coffee shop, where Holland’s Peter Parker looks up from his phone to see Messi walk through the door. “You’re Messi?” Parker asks, starstruck. The cafe owner barely looks up. “Yeah, he knows,” he replies.
Messi then pulls out his phone and explains that he is using a tracking app to hunt down Spider-Man himself. Parker excuses himself, steps into a back room, and returns suited up as the web-slinger. “Hey, I heard you were looking for me,” Spider-Man says. “You good with heights?”
What follows is a fast-paced sequence of Spider-Man swinging through the city skyline with Messi in tow, the Argentine screaming with delight as they soar past New York’s buildings.
Holland shared the video with his 64.2 million Instagram followers, and fans flooded the comments. One follower wrote, “Woahhhh !!!! 😱❤️🔥” Another simply said, “I am crying.”
Sony captioned the release “Who’s got next?” as part of the film’s marketing push ahead of its July 31 theatrical release.
The timing works well for both stars. Messi has been in dominant form at the 2026 World Cup, finishing the group stage as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals. His strike against Jordan extended his scoring streak to seven straight World Cup matches and pushed his career tally in the tournament to 19 goals, the most by any in World Cup history.
Holland, meanwhile, is deep into promotion for Brand New Day his fourth solo outing as Spider-Man and his first major film role since 2022’s “Uncharted.”
The 30-year-old actor has been a familiar face around the World Cup, having visited Madrid to talk about the film and his love of football. During that trip, he named Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal as someone who would make a perfect Spider-Man because of his speed and agility. He has also spoken about his admiration for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez, known for his spider-themed goal celebration.
This is not the pair’s first football crossover moment either. Holland was at Chase Stadium in Miami on May 24 to watch Inter Miami face Philadelphia Union, a match Messi’s side won 6-4, though Messi himself did not find the net that day.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, known for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” The film also stars Zendaya and Sadie Sink and picks up after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” following Peter Parker as he rebuilds his life after Doctor Strange’s spell wiped the world’s memory of his secret identity.
The film arrives in theatres worldwide on July 31, just as the World Cup reaches its final stages, with Messi and Argentina still in the hunt to defend their title.
