Messi Mania ... how the cult Argentinian footballer took America by storm, transforming Inter Miami ... and his own brand
Peter Fisk
NEXT/NOW … futurist and strategist, author and speaker… helping business leaders to thrive in a fast-changing world ... with better strategy, innovation, brands, sustainability, transformation, and leadership.
When Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup for Argentina, it felt like a fitting end to his glorious career.
The football star, for many the GOAT (greatest of all time), had done it all -?a record seven Ballon d'Or awards as the world's best player. He had spent almost his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club record of 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and the Champions League four times. For the last two seasons he had moved to Paris St Germain, and then finally in 2022, he captained his beloved Argentina to win the FIFA World Cup.
Since July this year, when Messi announced his move to new and underachieving?US soccer team Inter Miami, the city - and much of America too - has been gripped by the dazzling star.?His flamingo pink club jersey has become ubiquitous.
Messi’s face is everywhere in Miami: on gigantic murals, billboards, public transport and television adverts. Messi wares are being hawked on street corners and in every novelty store and sports outfitter in the city. Beach bars are serving Messi Mojitos, the Hard Rock Cafe offers the Messi Chicken Sandwich and Messi Burger, and a local brewery is selling pale pink cans of GOAT 10 beer (he wears the No 10 jersey for Inter Miami, as he has for most of his career).
On the pitch, Messi has had an instant impact on the football club too, which plays in the Major League Soccer (MLS) league and is co-owned by David Beckham, himself once the biggest thing in US football. It took the former England captain years to mould LA Galaxy into contenders but Messi has already turned perhaps the worst team in the league into perhaps the best.
DRV PNK Stadium, the club’s temporary home in Fort Lauderdale while it scrambles to build its own, is sold out for every game and in the VIP suites the Beckhams are rubbing shoulders with the likes of LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Puff Daddy.
Off the pitch, the Messi effect has proved even more spectacular. At the beginning of the summer, Inter Miami’s Instagram account had one million followers. It now has 15 million, not just more than any of its league rivals but more than any ice hockey, baseball or American football team and all but three US basketball teams.
Since Messi’s first game against Cruz Azul in July, where standing-room tickets started at nearly $900, average ticket prices have increased by more than 500%, from $110 to $690. That Messi effect extends across the league, at every stadium he travels to. Ticket prices for the match between Inter Miami and Los Angeles FC last Sunday set a record as the most expensive in MLS history — roughly $900 for the cheapest option. Official and knock-off Messi jerseys have been on backorder for months.
Messi has also transformed the business model of the MLS. His surprise move to the US was made possible with a unique deal. Would just offering money be enough to attract a player who ranked second in 2023 on Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes at $130 million?
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Messi's 2?-year deal with Inter Miami is "worth up to $150 million total from his salary, signing bonus, and equity in the team" according to the club, securing a piece of the club's ownership on retiring. However the real commercial sweetener was the commercial rights - Messi will get a significant share of all sign-up fees for Apple TV, the MLS streaming service, and also a share of all Adidas merchandise sales, Adidas being the existing sponsor of Inter Miami, and a long-time sponsor of Messi.
Before the American move, Messi had earned around $120 million annually, which placed hime marginally behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the football world. However Messi is a far more likeable personality, and with a move to the heart of America's Latin community, he could really exploit his popularity.
Last year, in addition to his Paris St Germain salary of?$65 million, GeniusWorks analysis shows that he earned around $55 million annually from brand endorsements (Adidas, Huawei, Gatorade, MasterCard, Lay’s, Pepsi, Hawkers, Ooredoo, Gillette, Turkish Airlines). That figure, now with additional deals and income streams, will grow significantly.
The 35 year old's net wealth of around $600 million, is also bolstered by?investments in his own branded merchandise, which can be bought at The Messi Store ?plus a property portfolio and digital investments.
Around his birthplace of Rosario in Argentina, for example, he has put money into the Azahares del Parana project (a set of gated communities out of the city) as well as an apartment building in the city centre. Other investments include dipping?his toe into the worlds of cryptocurrency and NFTs, working in partnership with Ethernity.
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