Often known as one of the most polite and good boys of soccer, Lionel Messi has successfully impressed NFL great Chad Johnson. Captain of Inter Miami and the Argentine soccer team, Lionel Messi, was recently spotted smiling with Chad Johnson.
The Cincinnati Bengals star Johnson recently shared a photo on X (formerly known as Twitter). Johnson was photographed with Messi, who was seen looking up at Johnson and sporting arguably one of the most infectious smiles ever seen. Messi's wide grin even had Johnson questioning everything he knew about “love.”
“If you don’t smile at me like Messi do you really love me [question mark emoji],” wrote Johnson. Not a recent photo, the actual photo possibly dates back to their 2024 meetup.
Fans also spotted the moment and started commenting. “Smile that win trophies. Only accepting Messi tier smiles,” wrote one fan. While another one wrote, “That's all I've ever really wanted fr is somebody that looks at me the way Lionel Messi looks at Chad Ochocinco.”
If you don’t smile at me like Messi do you really love me❔ pic.twitter.com/YnIpvdptEX
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) March 25, 2026
Chad Johnson prefers Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi
During a 2023 appearance on Nightcap, Chad Johnson highly commended Lionel Messi's abilities, yet ultimately chose Cristiano Ronaldo over him.
I've been going to watch Messi for the past…I never missed El Clásico for maybe 12 years. I love him, I love Messi to death. Messi is God given. God said, ‘you know what when you born you're gonna be blessed,” Johnson said. “But I prefer Christiano. I prefer Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Ronaldo, the captain of Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, currently finds himself injured ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, while Messi recently won the MLS Cup with his team, Inter Miami.
