Inter Miami's Lionel Messi's "Messi Chicken Sandwich" makes South Florida debut

The battle for chicken sandwich supremacy has just gotten even more intense. Forget Chick-Fil-A, Popeyes or even KFC, there's a new player in the game and it's even named after a player... enter the "Messi chicken sandwich."

Named after world-famous soccer star Lionel Messi, this powerhouse of poultry was released on July 12 just as Messi makes his much-heralded entrance into Major League Soccer and, equally significant, South Florida.

This beautiful bird is a "Milanese Style" chicken sandwich, and was inspired by one of the soccer legend's favorite Argentinean dishes while growing up.

Considered by many to be the unofficial dish of Argentina, the Milanesa was originally brought to Argentina by Italian immigrants and is basically thinly sliced meat covered in breadcrumbs and lightly pan-fried in oil.

What's on the Messi Chicken Sandwich?

The Messi chicken sandwich features a crispy, Milanese-style chicken breast topped with provolone cheese, herbed aioli, fresh tomatoes and arugula lettuce on a toasted artisan bun.

"I’m thrilled to bring the flavors of my home country to the world with the launch of my very own chicken sandwich, inspired by one of my favorite dishes, the Milanesa,” the world-renowned soccer sensation, international icon and forward for Inter Miami CF, Lionel Messi said in a written release. “There has been no better partner than Hard Rock International in bringing this to life."

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Love Lionel, soccer and chicken sandwiches and can't wait to dig in? Well, pump the brakes for just a second. It's only available at participating Hard Rock Café locations and Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos. (Of course, Google tells us that's just one county away in Hollywood, Florida.)

More sports star, culinary crossover/collaborations:

Once upon a time, if our sports heroes were great and really lucky, they might appear on a box of fortified breakfast cereal. Those days are gone. The game has changed and the ante is way up. Now if you don't have a dish, drink or sandwich named after you... are you even a real sports star? Here are a few besides Messi that, at least at some point, made their way to true greatness over the years.

Barry Bonds, No. 25 Barry Bonds

Named after the MLB San Francisco Giant great, it is available at Ike's Love and Sandwiches in San Francisco. It comes with turkey, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. Like all the sandwiches at Ike's, it is served hot with dirty sauce.

Derek Jeter, The Grand Salami

Available at Subway, this big league sub comes with oven-roasted turkey, Genoa salami, American cheese, lettuce, pickles, jalapeño peppers, and a bit of oil and red wine vinegar all stuffed into a freshly baked hearty multigrain loaf.

Rob Gronkowski, The Avocado Spike Bowl

Though not a sandwich and actually sounding kind of healthy, this menu item is also at Subway and features lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers, green peppers, Monterey cheddar, smashed avocado, and a drizzle of baja chipotle sauce.

Ben Roethlisberger, The Roethlisberger

Offered at Peppi's Old Tyme Sandwich Shop, and designed with the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, this sandwich is not for the faint of heart. It features a 12-ounce hamburger patty, 12-ounce hot sausage, onions, cheese, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers, pickles and more, served on a hoagie roll.

Dirk Nowitzki, The Dirk Burger

Paying tribute to Dallas Mavericks great at American Airlines Center, this burger had a third-pound patty, on a Bavarian pretzel bun with jalapeno beer cheese, bacon-onion marmalade and lettuce.

Tim Tebow, The Jetbow

Created by the Carnegie Deli when Tebow played for the New York Jets, this sandwich featured corned beef, pastrami and roast beef on white bread with lettuce, tomato, American cheese and mayo.

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Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He has lived in the West Palm Beach area for more than 30 years and, from mild to wild, will cover noteworthy community happenings. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Inter Miami's Lionel Messi launches chicken sandwich at Hard Rock