MIAMI — Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be on the training field with Inter Miami star Lionel Messi? Have you been dying to get a selfie with the Argentine icon since he arrived in South Florida last summer?

Now is your chance. Well, sort of.

The Messi Experience, a 20,000 square-foot, multi-media immersive traveling exhibit kicks off its world tour in Miami Thursday at The Hangar at Regatta Harbor in Coconut Grove. It is scheduled to run in Miami through the end of June, which happens to coincide with the June 29 Copa America match between Argentina vs. Peru at Hard Rock Stadium.

The plan is for the exhibit to then travel to 80 cities around the world over the next five years, including stops in other Major League Soccer cities, and throughout South America, Europe and Asia.

Visitors will get to step into Messi’s soccer boots and embark on a nine-room, family friendly interactive journey that begins with his childhood in Rosario, Argentina, heads to Spain for his storied career with FC Barcelona, then to Qatar, where he led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, and finally to South Florida for his latest stop with Inter Miami.

With the use of 3-D cameras and AI, fans will get to experience a training session and locker room speech with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, test their soccer skills with instruction from Messi, and then, pose for a selfie with the Argentine icon that will feel and sound as if he were there in person.

The Messi Experience is the brainchild of Primo Entertainment co-founders David Rosenfeld, a former University of Miami tennis player who majored in international finance and marketing, and Andres Naftali, a Florida International University alum.

They have promoted concerts, produced and promoted immersive art exhibitions such as Beyond Van Gogh, Beyond Monet, and Frida Kahlo the Life of an Icon and decided to go after Messi, one of the greatest artists on a soccer field.

They partnered with Messi and Canada-based Moment Factory studio for the Messi Experience. Rosenfeld said the Argentine soccer federation, FC Barcelona and Inter Miami also contributed to the project.

“The art exhibits were successful, and we wanted to take it to another level and branch out to sports, and because both of us are big soccer fans, Leo Messi was our first choice,” Rosenfeld said. “We spent two years developing the idea, before we knew he would win the World Cup. We’re based in Miami, so when he landed at Inter Miami, it was the perfect fit to kick it off here.”

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