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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Ben Steiner

Lionel Messi Surprised by U.S., Canada Soccer Boom Ahead of ‘Special’ MLS Cup

Lionel Messi Thomas Müller MLS MLS Cup Canada Soccer Vancouver Sergio Busquets Inter Miami Jordi Alba

FORT LAUDERDALE — As Lionel Messi prepares to battle for his first league title outside Europe, he confessed he has been surprised by the passion for soccer displayed by fans across the United States and Canada.

When Messi arrived in Miami in 2023, he changed the trajectory of a club that had been in the doldrums of MLS since their inaugural 2020 campaign. His arrival in the league has prompted a drastic rise in support from across North America, the extent of which caught the Argentine by surprise.

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