Lionel Messi’s Favorite Goal Created into an AI Masterpiece

A groundbreaking masterpiece titled ‘Living Memory: Messi – A Goal in Life,’ created by Lionel Messi and Refik Anadol, has recently been unveiled. This immersive, AI-driven artwork transforms an unforgettable goal personally chosen by Messi, redefining the boundaries of art, technology, and sports.

On July 8, the one-of-a-kind artwork will make its physical debut at a dedicated Christie’s sale, with a corresponding exhibition being held at New York’s Rockefeller Center from July 12 through 22. Funds from the sale will benefit multiple nonprofits, including Inter Miami CF Foundation’s global partnership with UNICEF, which supports access to quality education programs in five countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Presented in 16K resolution, ‘Living Memory: Messi – A Goal in Life’ offers an eight-minute immersive experience. The artist describes it as a “memory temple” that reimagines the iconic winning header using artificial intelligence. This experience captures the magic of Messi, floating mid-air without one boot, as he skillfully guides Xavi’s precise cross past Edwin van der Sar.

Choosing a favorite goal among the more than 800 goals in Messi’s career is no easy task. For Anadol, he explained, ‘This work is about transforming the data from Messi’s favorite goal into living memory – something we have never done before.’ The piece is anchored by an ‘architecture of action,’ which is an open-source motion-tracking framework that layers millions of data points. These data points include biometric voice data, breathing rhythms, heartbeat patterns, and physiological signals from 17 sites on the athlete’s body. This allows for the recreation of the movement, visuals, and sounds from that iconic moment. Anadol emphasised, ‘It relived the depth of that split second: what Messi felt, what the crowd felt, and what it meant to the world.’