Even though Lionel Messi’s transfer to Inter Miami hasn’t been formalized, Major League Soccer has already seen his impact.
Some of the biggest names in soccer have visited the US before; among them are David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, and even Pelé.
Messi, however, might have a bigger impact on American soccer than any of the players who came before him.
When referring to the English side when it was in the lead in the Premier League last season, Maguire said, “To some extent, that’s comparable to what we were seeing with the prices for Arsenal’s tickets for their final home match of the season. “You had £50 tickets trading on StubHub and similar sites for $1,000 when Arsenal was eight points ahead of Manchester City. Demand will outstrip availability for individuals who want to be able to boast, “I watched Lionel Messi play in his first MLS game.
“He’s not playing at every ground in every week so I don’t see a huge ripple effect,” the author said. “I also think there will be a sharp spike and then things will return to some form of normality, especially if he doesn’t transform things for them.” The cost of tickets for Inter Miami games increased by more than 1,000% in the moments following the announcement that Messi would be heading to the US. The cheapest ticket for Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul on July 21 — maybe Messi’s first match with his new team — cost just $29, according to the resale website TickPick.
In the 24 hours after news of Messi’s pending move emerged, the cheapest ticket was $329, TickPick said – a surge of 1,034%.
The biggest increase, however, was for Miami’s game against the New York Red Bulls, with ticket prices soaring by 1,236% for Messi’s first trip to the Big Apple in August.
There has been a similar impact on StubHub, which has seen sales for Inter Miami’s games from July until the end of the season increase 28-fold since Messi’s deal was announced.
Other MLS teams have also enjoyed a boost in ticket sales; Miami’s game away to Los Angeles FC has gone from the 15th highest-selling event in LAFC’s season, StubHub said, to the second highest-selling event – and is on track to be the No. 1.
Messi’s pending arrival at Inter Miami, which currently sits bottom of the MLS’ Eastern Conference, has already given a huge boost to the club’s global reach.
Before the announcement, the club 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,” Maguire adds. “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.
According to multiple reports, Messi’s new deal with Miami includes an option for part-ownership of the club and a cut of revenue from new subscribers to Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass streaming service.
Last year, MLS announced a 10-year deal with Apple to stream every US top-flight men’s game worldwide.
This season, viewers can watch every MLS, Leagues Cup, MLS NEXT Pro, and MLS NEXT match through the men’s professional soccer league’s streaming platform, which is available through Apple TV.
