Although all the reflectors point to Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, in his shadow stands another figure who, unlike the Argentine, inspires more hate than love, and not exactly because of his sporting prowess.
This is the Ecuadorian player Leonardo Campana, whose goals led the South Florida club to a new final in American football. The 23-year-old forward was responsible for two of the three goals that secured Inter’s place in the US Open Cup, America’s oldest tournament.
Campana’s two goals against FC Cincinnati last week put him back in the spotlight, and many wondered who this forward is who, despite not having played at the World Cup in Qatar, could be part of Ecuador’s squad from the start of qualifying until the 2026 World Cup.
sports career
Campana made his football debut at Barcelona SC in 2019, the same year he was called up to the South America U-20 team, where he finished as a goalscorer with 6 goals in 9 games. However, he couldn’t repeat history at the World Cup in this category, failing to score in the seven games he played.
After progressing through the national team and his good time at Barcelona, he was traded to Wolverhampton in the Premier League, where he didn’t play a minute.
He was then loaned out to Farmalicao in Portugal and then to Grasshoppers in Switzerland. He ended up at David Beckham’s Inter in early 2022, where he put in his best performance to date, scoring 12 goals in 28 games in his first season, while this season he has 6 goals in 26 games after recovering from injury.
With him back available to the team, Gerardo “Tata” Martino has him as a substitute, but as he takes the field, he shows he should already be considered a starter along with Messi, who scored both goals for him at Cincinnati.
However, Campana is not recognized by his compatriots as a footballer with projection who can lead the “Tri” to a new ranking for a senior World Cup; on the contrary, they criticize his participation because of his origin and social position.
And it is that Bell comes from a wealthy and very influential family from Guayaquil, Ecuador, so much so that his legacy surpasses that of Messi, who is considered the great figure of Inter Miami.
Campana is first of all the grandson of Isabel Noboa, one of Ecuador’s most successful businesswomen, and of Isidro Romero, who built the stadium for Barcelona SC, the team with which he made his debut.
But his connections to the wealthiest society in the neighboring country do not end there. One of his great-uncles is lvaro Noboa, a powerful businessman and one of the largest banana exporters in the world with Industrial Molinera and Exportadora Bananera Noboa.
In addition, a second uncle of his could become the next president of Ecuador. Campana is the second nephew of right-wing businessman Daniel Noboa Azn, who will face Luisa González, the Corresmo candidate, in the second round of the presidential election on October 15.
All of these family ties to influential figures in Ecuadorian society make Campana part of one of the wealthiest and most powerful circles in the country. The footballer’s family fortune is worth $1,000 million, significantly higher than that of his teammate Messi, which is estimated at $500 million.
This figure makes many Ecuadorians criticize him and refuse his participation in football since in this country it is special for a young man with his social status to be a football player, which creates an environment of discrimination.
