The World Cup winner joined David Beckham’s Inter Miami earlier this year, turning the club’s fortunes around immediately. He’s already fired them to two cup finals in just one week, also helping them win the Leagues Cup, the first trophy in the club’s young history.

Lionel Messi’s arrival in the United States is pretty significant as the Argentine attacker has made an immediate impact on American soccer.

Beckham appreciates the magnitude of his investment and isn’t taking any chances. The former Man Utd, Real Madrid, and L.A. Galaxy star has hired a bodyguard to keep a watchful eye on Messi. The former Navy Seal and MMA fighter even shadows the forward while he’s playing.

The bodyguard, Yassine Cheuko, is never very far from the soccer icon and was seen patrolling the sidelines during Miami’s U.S. Open Cup semi-final against FC Cincinnati on Thursday.

Cheuko kept his focus on Messi and matched his runs up and down the pitch. Fortunately for him, Messi does a lot of waiting around before springing into goalscoring action.

The bodyguard is quite the specimen. Having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cheuko is also a boxing and taekwondo expert.

Beckham likely decided to hire a bodyguard for Messi after the player was approached by a fan who ran onto the pitch after evading security last month.