Messi cleans up in his move to MLS

The footballing legend has hit a new trifecta. A new territory to conquer, a first-of-its-kind off-the-pitch contract, and a Messi documentary. In a world where content is king, Lionel Messi has created a buzz just by being really, really, ridiculously good at soccer.

With soccer continually growing worldwide, and MLS becoming more popular, the MLS itself needed to find a way to increase its viewership and consistent fanbase. We are pretty sure we are witnessing that with every free kick he lands, seemingly at will. Along with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, the former Barcelona man made his way to Inter Miami via David Beckham, and fans of all kinds are tuning in.

• ?? The four-part documentary will chronicle Argentina’s triumphant run to Messi’s first World Cup title last year.
• ??Messi’s contract with Miami includes an equity stake in the team and is worth $50-60 million per year through 2025.
• ?? Apple hopes for Messi’s incredible fanbase to turn into customers; their “GOAT is on Apple TV” campaign pushed MLS Season Pass to close in on one million subscribers (700,000 in early June).
• ??? For Inter Miami home games, average listed ticket prices surged hundreds of dollars from $152 to over $900.
• ?? Once Messi was announced formally, 14,522 people searched for Inter Miami tickets on StubHub, with the cheapest one for their Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul already going for $373 ($334 on SeatGeek).
• ?? Univision’s broadcast of Messi’s debut in the MLS averaged 1.75 million viewers, making it the most watched MLS match ever on Spanish-language tv.
• ??A clip on MLS’ X account of Messi’s first match-winning goal made its rounds garnering 55 million views by the next morning, also spurring Inter Miami’s account to gain 11 million followers on IG.
• ?? Messi has a chance to reach: the fasted number of matches to 10 goals (regular season), quickest to serve 10 assists, and the most free-kick goals early in his MLS career.
• ??Furthering the progress in the league, the LA battle drew a record 82k+ fans earlier this month at the Rose Bowl stadium.
• ??? Despite the games Messi plays in raising attendance, the overall MLS attendance is only up about 4 percent from last season.

We hope the growth continues to bleed into all aspects of the beautiful game, and that new fans become lifelong supporters. The youth in America have a special opportunity to witness the level of American soccer elevate, and to be part of its future.

I hope that his experience here is a good one — that he enjoys playing and living in Miami, he believes the quality of competition is strong, he can look at the facilities, which we’re so proud of, and think that they’re among the best facilities in the world and, most importantly, he believes that America and Canada are rising soccer nations that deserve to be part of the global conversation of international football. If at the end of this of his time here, that’s something that he can believe and that we could have achieved even more than we could have done on our own, I think that will be viewed as a success.”?— MLS Commissioner Don Garber