Lionel Messi enjoys peaceful bike ride in hometown with family ahead of Inter Miami transfer

The new Inter Miami player was seen enjoying a relaxed bike ride with his wife and one of their sons in his hometown of Rosario.

So chilled-out was the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain man, that he even had time to wave and laugh at one lucky fan who caught them in-person on camera.

Messi was riding the streets of the private neighbourhood Funes in the city where he was born, and was joined by his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and youngest son Ciro.

The 35-year-old even sent a polite wave to a fan who spotted them, but kept a respectful distance.

The images were a stark contrast to his last trip out into the wild in Argentina, when a dinner in the Buenos Aires capital in March turned into an event.

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Hundreds of fans surrounded the restaurant as Messi tried to flee, but he thankfully didn't appear to be distressed as he grinned with glee as he tried to squeeze past dozens of smartphones with their camera apps open.

That ambush came three months after Messi had achieved God-like status in his home country by guiding Argentina to a 2022 World Cup win.

Now not only one of the most famous athletes, but most famous people of all-time, it's rare to see Messi get some time away from fans.

His last football match was a 2-0 friendly win over Australia in Beijing, China, and he scored the fastest goal of his career in the 79th second of the match.

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Manager Lionel Scaloni summed up the fanfare around Messi at the sold-out Workers' Stadium by joking: "They are going to kill us!"

Messi was then given time off for Argentina's next friendly against Indonesia, as he spends time back home attending the farewell matches of former teammates Maxi Rodriguez and Juan Roman Riquelme.

After that, he will travel to his new side in Miami, with his debut scheduled for July 21 against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.