Bright arrived in the US in 2023 to join the Under-23 team of North Carolina Fusion before being drafted by Inter Miami ahead of the 2024 MLS season, where he met football icon Messi over the first few days.
Bright nearly fainted
The 24 year old became the fourth Italian player to win a trophy alongside Messi after they lifted the MLS together, joining Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti and Gianluca Zambrotta.
Speaking to Gazzetta about meeting the World Cup winner, Bright admitted that he felt very overwhelmed but honoured.
"Leo is a very humble person with an incredible aura. I remember the first time I saw him I almost fainted, despite trying to mentally prepare myself before he arrived. He presented himself as just any person, he is a leader on and off the pitch, before matches he always knows how to find the right words to motivate us. A model professional, with obsessive attention to detail.
"He is a quiet boy, but on the pitch he transforms into an animal, at 38 and after everything he has won he never wants to lose even in training. In the locker room, he then has a very good relationship with the whole team.
"(We have) a good relationship as teammates - we talk a lot about football, he tells me about his family and asks me about mine. He has been a great help these two years both on and off the pitch. He told me that he likes Italy and the challenges he played at San Siro. When he won with Barcelona against Milan in 2011, I was in the stands too, thanks to my brother playing in the youth team."
Mascherano is a real leader
Bright also opened up on club owner David Beckham and manager Javier Mascherano who he says is essential to the team’s success.
"Mascherano is very good on a human level, he manages to put himself on the same level as the players.
"He asks me to put my determination into play to compensate for the loss of Sergio's technical qualities. Beckham is a true leader, very present: before matches he always comes to charge us one by one."