• Lionel Messi poses with wife Antonella Roccuzzo during the premiere of the Cirque du Soleil's "Messi10" show in Barcelona, Spain. Reuters
    Lionel Messi poses with wife Antonella Roccuzzo during the premiere of the Cirque du Soleil's "Messi10" show in Barcelona, Spain. Reuters
  • Messi poses with wife Antonella. Reuters
    Messi poses with wife Antonella. Reuters
  • Messi and his wife Antonella pose with director Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar, third left, and other Cirque du Soleil personnel on the red carpet. AFP
    Messi and his wife Antonella pose with director Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar, third left, and other Cirque du Soleil personnel on the red carpet. AFP
  • Barcelona's former goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto poses with his wife Elena Gross on the red carpet. AFP
    Barcelona's former goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto poses with his wife Elena Gross on the red carpet. AFP
  • Barcelona's Ansu Fati poses with family members. Reuters
    Barcelona's Ansu Fati poses with family members. Reuters
  • Barcelona's President Josep Maria Bartomeu and members of the Board of Directors pose during the premiere. Reuters
    Barcelona's President Josep Maria Bartomeu and members of the Board of Directors pose during the premiere. Reuters
  • The president of Spanish Liga Javier Tebas poses on the red carpet. AFP
    The president of Spanish Liga Javier Tebas poses on the red carpet. AFP
  • Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler poses on the red carpet. AFP
    Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler poses on the red carpet. AFP
  • Guillermo Bonetto, centre, and Claudio Illobre, right, of Argentinian reggae band "Los Cafres" pose on the red carpet. AFP
    Guillermo Bonetto, centre, and Claudio Illobre, right, of Argentinian reggae band "Los Cafres" pose on the red carpet. AFP
  • Singer Nicky Jam poses during the premiere of the "Messi10" show. Reuters
    Singer Nicky Jam poses during the premiere of the "Messi10" show. Reuters
  • Cirque du Soleil's founder Guy Laliberte and artists pose during the premiere of the "Messi10" show. Reuters
    Cirque du Soleil's founder Guy Laliberte and artists pose during the premiere of the "Messi10" show. Reuters
  • Messi poses with wife Antonella Roccuzzo during the premiere. Reuters
    Messi poses with wife Antonella Roccuzzo during the premiere. Reuters

Lionel Messi hits the red carpet in Barcelona for the Cirque du Soleil show based on his career


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The premiere of the Cirque du Soleil show based on the career of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi took place in the Catalan capital on Thursday.

Messi10 will run for a month at the Parc del Forum theatre in Barcelona, before travelling to the player's home country of Argentina next summer.

The man himself was present with his family for the big night in Spain and the event has captured people's imagination with the opening performance quickly selling out.

The production is described as "a euphoric 90-minute thrill ride that combines breathtaking physical performance with unthinkable poetic wonder".

In true football fashion, the show, which will last until January 2020, lasts for 90 minutes, divided into two halves of 45.

"It's impressive," the 32-year-old, five-time Ballon d'Or winner, said in an interview with RAC1. "It was very weird when it all started, when they said they wanted to do this. For me, it's incredible, because it's not normal for someone who is still so present to be an inspiration.

"It's usually done as homage to people who are no longer with us. It was very difficult to mix football and circus and the fact that they were inspired by me was surprising so it was a very nice feeling."

Other guests present on the night included his Barca teammates Luis Suarez, Ansu Fati and Abel Ruiz. Others could not attend as they were away on international duty.