Soccer fans soaking up the Lionel Messi buzz in Vancouver

He’s arguably the greatest player of all time, he’s in Vancouver, and soccer fans expect he will be on the pitch Thursday night against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Lionel Messi is creating quite a buzz ahead of the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-finals at BC Place.

There are images on social media showing people climbing trees outside a practice facility at UBC on Wednesday just to try to get a glimpse of Messi as Inter Miami CF prepared for the game.

“I really like him,” said one fan along Vancouver’s Broadway. “But the ticket price is not very cheap.”

With many seats for the game going for hundreds to thousands of dollars on the resale market, this fan is going for a less expensive option.

“We can watch the TV! It’s cheaper,” he laughed.

Another Messi fan says he’s hesitant to shell out big money for the game after being disappointed last year when the superstar did not make the trip to Vancouver for a regular-season MLS match.

“I’m pretty excited because I love Lionel Messi, grew up watching him in Barcelona, and also with the Argentinian national team. I’m Bolivian, so I had the pleasure to see him play a few times when he went to play in Bolivia,” he told 1130 NewsRadio.

“But, last year, I bought tickets for me and my dad, who came for my graduation that same weekend — it was a way to say thank you for the last four years of college — and he pulled out. It was not nice, and I didn’t want to make the same mistake again.”

Others agree Messi’s expected appearance at BC Place would be a great opportunity to see one of the world’s best players, if ticket prices were more reasonable.

“I’d like to go watch the game. I think everybody wants to see him playing because it’s a big chance to see Messi play in Vancouver, but let’s see what happens, whether he’s injured or not,” said a self-professed European football fan.

“But it’s insane. I think it’s no good to have prices like that. For kids or families who don’t have money here because Vancouver is an expensive city, there should be a cap so there is a fair price for everybody. It’s nice to go see a game, and it shouldn’t be just for the rich people,” he added.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Inter Miami CF kick off at 7:30 p.m. at BC Place in leg one of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final.

The second match will be played at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 30.