ODESSA, Fla. — If Luka Maric could have his way, he’d be on the soccer field all day long.

What You Need To Know

  •  Luka Maric is a 9-year-old soccer player. He plays in the Florida Premier youth league.

  •  Luka's been playing soccer since he was 2.

  •  He recently got to meet his idol, Lionel Messi, at a soccer match in Tampa.

But Luka is 9, so he can’t do whatever he wants. Still, if he was calling the shots, he’d spend every waking hour playing soccer. He has been playing since he was 2 and his earliest memory of the game was when he was 4.

“I remember that I, like, scored and then after they gave us trophies,” Luka said.

Luka plays with the Florida Premiere youth league. His favorite team is Arsenal. And his favorite player is the Gunners forward Bukayo Saka. One day, he’d love to play professional soccer.

He recently got an up close and personal glimpse at the pro soccer life when he attended the Florida Derby match at Raymond James Stadium between Orlando City and Inter Miami. How up close and personal? Let’s just say, he and the GOAT, Lionel Messi became best buds.

In front of the largest crowd to ever watch a soccer game at Raymond James Stadium, Luka and Messi walked on to the field, hand-in-hand. It’s one of the sweetest soccer traditions, children escorting the players onto the field before matches. Because it was Messi, it was much sweeter for Luka.

“I was thinking, 'I was dreaming,' and my knees were shaking,” Luka said. “I felt like I was going to faint cause I was so excited and happy.”

Luka’s brush with greatness and his brief time with Messi have ignited something inside of him. He was dedicated to soccer before. But now he really is all in. All because of a GOAT.

“Makes me more confident and it makes me believe in myself, that I can I do all the things that I imagined that I can,” he said.