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Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi will be on his own on the sideline from now on as MLS has banned his personal bodyguard, Yassine Cheuko, from the field of play. While Cheuko can still be in the locker room and in “mixed zones,” he will not be on the field scanning the crowd for potential pitch invaders. And the former Navy SEAL is not too happy about that.
“They don't allow me to be on the field anymore,” the bodyguard told Spanish media, per ESPN. “I was in Europe for seven years, working for Ligue 1 and the Champions League, and only six people invaded the pitch.
“I came to the USA, and in just 20 months, 16 people have already done so. There's a huge problem here, let me help Messi,” he continued.
Lionel Messi is one of the biggest celebrities in the world, so his want for more security is understandable. However, as Cheuko has already gone viral for being ultra-vigilant and even physically removing a child from the field when he approached the soccer star, it also makes sense that MLS wants to reduce the opportunity for something going wrong with an unauthorized security guard on the pitch.
Overall, this puts the burden on MLS to make sure Messi is properly protected when he is on the field with Inter Miami. If they can't, there could be a horrible incident that no one wants to see.
This will be a season-long issue that Messi, Inter Miami, MLS, and Cheuko have to navigate, as the 2025 season has just gotten underway. The team is five games into a season that turns until October, so there is plenty of time and plenty of games for incidents to occur.
In addition to playing games in the Fort Lauderdale area as well as all around the country, the team will also travel to Canada for several MLS games and to Mexico for League Cup matches.
