Lionel Messi has not yet signed with Inter Miami and won’t for a few more weeks, until his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires June 30.
He is in China with Argentina’s national team for a Thursday exhibition match against Australia, scheduled to travel to Jakarta for a Monday game against Indonesia and not expected to make his Inter Miami debut until July 21 at DRV PNK Stadium.
But already Messi has proven to be the transformative player Inter Miami owners and Major League Soccer executives expected he would be when he announced last Wednesday that he would join Inter Miami this summer, rejecting a $500 million offer from Saudi Arabia and a sentimental tug to return to FC Barcelona.
Since his announcement, Inter Miami, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, had increased its Instagram following from just more than 1 million (largely due to David Beckham being a team co-owner) to 7.9 million, which is more than every NFL, MLB and NHL team. Only two U.S. pro teams have more followers – the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Messi has 470 million followers on Instagram, the second most followed account in the world behind Cristiano Ronaldo, and 575 million across all social media, more than double LeBron James’ 235 million followers, the most followed athlete in America.
Chicharito, by contrast, is the most followed current MLS player, with 22 million followers.
Messi’s announcement was the most talked-about moment on Twitter across the world on June 7. “Messi” was the No. 1 Twitter trend worldwide for five hours and featured in the top 10 for 10 hours. “Inter Miami” peaked at No. 2 worldwide and trended in the top 10 for four hours.
Within hours of the Messi news breaking, the Miami Herald soccer writer received radio interview requests from more than a dozen stations from as far as Ireland and New Zealand.
Across all social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter), Inter Miami is the second-most followed team in South Florida and has the most TikTok followers (3.3 million).
The Miami Heat leads with 27 million followers across all platforms. Inter Miami has 13 million, Miami Dolphins 6.5 million, Miami Marlins 1.9 million and Florida Panthers 1.2 million.
Messi’s announcement also led to a huge spike in demand for Inter Miami tickets, and prices have skyrocketed on the resale market. The lowest-listed resale price for Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul on July 21, projected to be Messi’s first match, has increased 1,034 percent. Tickets on StubHub Monday ranged from $810 to $20,701.
Single-game tickets for Inter Miami MLS home games after July 1 are not yet available, a strategic move club ownership made in anticipation of Messi’s potential signing. There are plans to add 3,000 seats and close the corners at DRV PNK Stadium by August, increasing the capacity to 22,000. Tickets are expected to go on sale in the coming weeks.
Average listed resale ticket prices for Inter Miami road matches is up more than 1,000 percent. Charlotte FC sold 10,000 tickets for its game against Miami in a three-hour window after Messi’s announcement and Atlanta United, which leads MLS with an average attendance of 46,097, released full venue upper-level seats for 71,000 Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Messi’s arrival at PSG in 2021 had a similar effect on the French club. According to a report from Marca, PSG made $750 million with the addition of Messi, including added revenue from sponsors and jersey sales.
Inter Miami officials have not made any statements about Messi’s announcement, as he is still under contract with PSG. But Messi has been the hot topic around the league.
Following New England’s 3-1 win against Inter Miami Saturday night, Revolution coach Bruce Arena said: “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.”
Arena was involved when MLS launched in 1996 and coached Beckham with the L.A. Galaxy. He warned that adding a superstar does not guarantee a winning record or an MLS Cup trophy.
“I had Beckham. I came in L.A. after Beckham had a tough year and a half,” Arena said. “David came in 2007, he came in mid-year and it was a mess. These things aren’t easy. It’s not gonna be easy for Miami. But Miami has a better roster now than I had in LA coming in in 2008. So, they’re gonna be fine. And Messi’s gonna win games. If Messi was on the field tonight, it would’ve been a real challenge for us. So, it’s good for the team, it’s good for Miami, it’s great for the league.”
Messi draws huge crowds wherever he goes.
He and his Argentina teammates were temporarily trapped in their Beijing hotel over the weekend after large numbers of fans gathered outside to see the star, Chinese state media reported. “Messi” became the top trending topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo after his arrival and the start of the team’s training session was delayed for safety reasons.”
New England lost at Inter Miami last month and won the home game. Arena is relieved he doesn’t have to face Messi in the regular season.
“We don’t have to play him anymore, so it’s good for us, except for the playoffs,” said Arena. “I’m hopeful that he has a great impact on the field. He’s gonna have a great impact off the field, we know that. 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.”
Arena was asked about Messi playing on artificial turf, as New England, Charlotte FC and Atlanta United all play on the surface, which is frowned upon by most elite soccer players.
“They’re going to have 80,000 people at the game,” Arena said of the Inter Miami game against Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “Is that bad for the league? That’s a good story. Messi’s a good story.”
