Inter Miami Transfer: Can Messi Reignite MLS’ Fortunes?

Lionel Messi

Culled from nationonlineng.net

Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi is set to become not only the face of Inter Miami, but also the entirety of Major League Soccer (MLS) after the former Barcelona legend agreed to sign for the South Florida side on June 8 despite being linked with a possible return to Barcelona and also a record-breaking deal to move to Saudi Arabia, writes OLUWAMAYOMIKUN OREKOYA

While World Cup winner Messi explained that it was for the benefit of his family to move to Miami, claiming that money wasn’t the driving force behind his future, he is being projected to be a catalyst, building momentum for the sport in the United States in the three years before they co-host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

Before that, the USA will also host the 2024 Copa America, meaning Messi could not only play his final game in club football in the States but likely his final major international tournament too.

And the move has echoes of Inter Milan’s owner and England legend David Beckham, who joined LA Galaxy in 2007, and of the late Pele, who was drawn to the American soccer package at New York Cosmos in the old NASL in the 1970s.

Already, Messi’s soon-to-be former teammate at PSG , Neymar Jr, has predicted the U.S. top flight is set to change because of the popularity the Argentine maestro will attract.

“I’m certain that Leo is going to change the league in the United States,” the Brazil international, who was also Messi teammate at Barcelona, said.

“I believe the league will become a lot more popular. So everyone has to take advantage and enjoy watching him play because unfortunately nothing lasts forever.

“I’m sad and happy at the same time. I already knew. Messi is one of my best friends, a gift that soccer has given me. I had the opportunity to get to know him, to play with him and then, to build a beautiful friendship. So, I knew that he wanted to come here [Miami], and we spoke about it. I told him he was going to be very happy in the city, because of the style of life, the opportunity to come to live and play here in Miami,” he added.

Messi’s move will partly be judged, whether he likes it or not, on the growth of soccer in America during his time there. Propelling it to the front and centre of the conversation in American sports, rather than an appendage.

The depth of influence Messi has will depend on whether his impact goes beyond the superficial. Will the enthusiasm end when he leaves or will Messi’s magic see domestic soccer strengthen across the nation?

At the moment, North American men’s professional sports consist primarily of the ‘Big Four’ major leagues – basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB), American football (NFL) and ice hockey (NHL).

While the 35-year-old’s move to Inter Miami is yet to be finalized, his impact on Major League Soccer is being felt already.

Inter Miami has already benefited from a huge boost in social media followers, while ticket prices all around the league are soaring as fans eagerly await Messi’s first visit to play against their teams with his new club.

The club before announcing Messi’s capture had around one million followers on Instagram; as of June 13, it now has 7.8 million – more than every NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS team account.

“Converting followers or monetizing followers is always a challenge,” Kieran Maguire , author of The Price of Football and a football finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool Management School, noted. “It helps in terms of commercial deals because if you want to pitch to a commercial partner, you can now say: ‘Well, your product is now going to be seen by six million people instead of one million.

So it will help from that perspective, A) in terms of the prices that Inter Miami can charge and B) with the number of commercial partners, who all of a sudden they want their product next to Lionel Messi.”

In fact, tickets to see Messi’s potential debut for Inter Miami have been listed online for an eye-watering $20,000 as prices continue to skyrocket, while the MLS club’s chiefs try to add 3,000 seats to their home stadium.

The cheapest resale price for Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul on July 21, predicted to be Messi’s first match, has soared 1,034 percent.

The average listed resale ticket prices for Inter Miami’s away games have also surged by 1,000 percent, according to The Miami Herald, providing a profit boost for other MLS teams.

Charlotte FC sold 10,000 tickets for its home game against Miami in no more than three hours after Messi revealed his move to the US. Atlanta United, which ranks first in average attendance (46,097) in the league, is providing full venue upper-level seats for its 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Searches for ‘Inter Miami tickets’ and ‘Inter Miami season tickets’ spiked by 13,057 percent and 1,215 percent worldwide compared to average levels over the last five years, according to Google Trends.

Messi’s signing drew over 150,000 searches for Inter Miami in June, an all-time high in the club’s history. Searches for ‘MLS’ are now at a five-year high, soaring by 322 percent compared to the last 30 days as the signing was announced.

Long-serving MLS coach Bruce Arena praised the league for tweaking contract rules to facilitate the deal, adding that he is delighted with Lionel Messi’s impending arrival in MLS.

It has also since emerged all MLS clubs contributed towards the contract offer put to Messi ahead of his switch, as his arrival appears to be a joint effort. The deal has not come without some complications, however, with Inter Miami currently already having the maximum number of three designated players (DP) on their roster.

As it stands, Gregore, Rodolfo Pizarro and Leonardo Campana are registered as the club’s exceptions to the salary cap restrictions which are in place in MLS as part of what has been dubbed the ‘Beckham Rule’. Essentially, each MLS player on the regular roster is allowed to earn a wage of approximately $651,250 (£513,179), with designated players allowed to earn a higher wage.

Although Inter Miami is, therefore, in a bit of a predicament heading into the upcoming MLS transfer window, veteran coach Arena praised the league for being lenient. For him, even if the South Beach club were left with three DPs plus Messi, the benefits of bringing a player of the World Cup winner’s quality and star power outweigh these concerns.

“I think bringing Lionel Messi into our league is fabulous and whatever they can do – if they had [the maximum] three DPs [designated players] already and they brought him in – I could live with it. It’s good for our league,” the former American national team coach said.

“I don’t know what it is, but the rules are being followed. The league isn’t doing any special for Miami. What’s special is that [David] Beckham was able to attract Messi to his club and they worked on him for a couple years.”

He added: “I think although he turns 36 this month, he’s gonna have a tremendous impact for that team and that city in the league. And that has to be good.”

Meanwhile, another soon-to-be former teammate at PSG, Kylian Mbappe, believes Messi didn’t get the respect he deserved in France. The France international, also confirming his decision not to renew his contract with PSG, went on full-sincere mood when talking about the Argentinian superstar.

The duo Mbappe and Messi made up at PSG came with some great achievements for Paris Saint Germain in the Ligue 1 and the French Cup, but they failed to win the Champions League, which was the main goal from the team’s owner Nasser Al-Khelaiffi. Maintaining a high payroll became very difficult for Paris Saint Germain, with an all-star team that didn’t reach the most important trophy in UEFA.

“He is one of greatest player in the history of football. It is never good news when someone like Messi leaves. I don’t quite understand why so many people were so relieved that he was gone. He didn’t get the respect he deserved in France,” he said