'Messi has entered the multiverse': Football icon swings into Spider-Man promo, leaving Tom Holland scrambling

Well, what would happen if Messi met Spider-Man?

You don't have to imagine much; Sony Pictures is here to help. Ahead of the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Sony Pictures Entertainment has unveiled a playful new promotional video featuring football legend Lionel Messi alongside Tom Holland's Spider-Man. The unlikely crossover sees the Argentine superstar swinging from New York's rooftops, much to the delight of fans of both sport and superheroes.

The promo opens with Peter Parker sitting in a New York café, deep in conversation on the phone. Mid-call, he suddenly blurts out, "Shut up!"—prompting confusion from the person on the other end. The interruption, however, has a simple explanation.

Walking through the café doors is none other than Messi.

Clearly caught off guard, Peter asks, "You're Messi?" while the café owner casually responds, "Yeah, he knows," treating the arrival of one of football's greatest players as just another day.

Messi, meanwhile, reveals he's looking for someone himself. Holding up his phone, he shows that he's trying to find Spider-Man.

Peter excuses himself for a moment before reappearing in full Spider-Man costume. Before Messi has much time to react, Spider-Man asks, "You're good with heights?" Moments later, the pair are soaring between Manhattan skyscrapers, with the football icon experiencing life on the end of a web for the very first time.

Fans have filled the YouTube comment section with hilarious comments, saying, "Messi's cameo was more unexpected than a plot twist." Another wrote, "Can't believe Messi is expanding his multiverse again." "Peter's life gets a bit Messi." Another joked the usual refrain, "Messi will return in Avengers Doomsday," a reference to the past few Marvel films where the tagline was revealed about a particular character.

The light-hearted advert arrives as anticipation continues to build for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland's fourth standalone outing as Marvel's web-slinger. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, best known for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the film sees Zendaya return as MJ, while Jon Bernthal's Punisher and Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner are also expected to appear. The film is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on July 30.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up in the aftermath of Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Doctor Strange's spell wiped Peter Parker from everyone's memory. With his identity erased from the lives of those closest to him, Peter is left to navigate life entirely on his own, settling into a modest apartment and dedicating himself fully to being Spider-Man with a homemade suit.

Marvel's official synopsis suggests that Peter is still coming to terms with that isolation, watching the people he once cared about continue their lives without him. But his personal struggles are only the beginning.

The description teases "a change in Peter he may not have the power to control," alongside the emergence of a mysterious new threat haunting New York City, a villain "no one can even see."

That cryptic premise has fuelled plenty of fan speculation. One of the most popular theories links the story to the long-awaited arrival of mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Casting rumours surrounding Sadie Sink have also sparked widespread discussion, with some fans suggesting she could make her debut as Jean Grey, one of Marvel's most powerful telepaths.