The news that the captain of world champions Argentina Lionel Messi is joning Inter Miami has somewhat shocked the world of football, even more so in America. Having such an icon of the sport playing in the Major League Soccer has been a dream for most of the teams involved in the league, and Inter Miami will reap most of the rewards. What is the main motivator for Messi to move to the MLS? What is the offer from the MLS? Why not go back to FC Barcelona? How can this boost the sports in MLS for the upcoming years? We are going to answer these questions and much more.
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History of the MLS
The Major League Soccer was established back in 1993, but this does not mean that Soccer officially started in that year since there was another format named North American Soccer League. The former NASL collapsed in 1984 after many consider the consequences of Pele’s three year spell in America. His effect and how clubs reacted to the sudden increase in revenue and popularity was not sustainable and it all went bust a couple of years after. Nowadays, clubs are building solid foundations and they learnt from their mistakes.
During the inaugural season in 1996, the MLS had 10 teams competing against each other, when David Beckham joined in 2007 there was 13 teams and currently they have 29 teams with another team waiting on the wings to join making it 30 in total.
As time passed, many stars moved from European clubs to the MLS, some of which had many successes and returned to the European leagues, such as the one and only Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The influence of players moving to play in the MLS extends beyond the on-field performance and financial aspects. Their presence has also played a vital role in the development of young American talent. The MLS serves as a learning ground for American players, who benefit greatly from training and competing alongise these experienced European professionals. These players have paved the way for new generations of American players that will grow and make history with their national team.
Everyone is a winner
Since FC Barcelona are no longer a feasible outlet for Lionel Messi due to the financial ruin they find themselves in, Messi had to look elsewhere. The only place that could rival the lure of the MLS was the Saudi League. Cristiano Ronaldo was the first big name player that moved to the Saudi League and now every player that needs to be moved on by his club is being linked with a move to the East.
When David Beckham first collaborated with the current board of directors to set up Inter Miami as a football club, he was congratulated by Lionel Messi and he also communicated with him personally, saying maybe further down the line David would give him a call. Now that the call has been made and everything is sealed, what is to be expected and how will it effect the League in general?
So, even without the transfer of Lionel Messi, the MLS signed a record breaking deal worth around $2.5 billion with Apple to start the MLS Season Pass. This is the first streaming package on Apple TV+ giving subscribers the chance to watch all the games of the MLS and Cup matches. This will give a huge boost to all the teams involved and make the MLS available to a wider range of audience, the appeal of watching Lionel Messi just strengthens it even more.
After winning the FIFA World Cup, Messi will join a long list of stars that made the decision to continue their football career stateside. Some of the players are: David Villa, Gareth Bale, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Daivd Beckham.
The whole league will benefit from this and during the initial negotiations, the wage for Messi was to be shared by all the clubs participating in the League.
The Business side of the story
Obviously, a player such as Lionel Messi will bring heaps of sponsors and commercial revenue. One of the incentives given to Messi was that he will get a share of the revenue gained by Apple through new subscriptions to the MLS Season Pass. Adidas, which is among MLS’ largest corporate sponsors, has prepared its own arrangement for Messi. The Argentine is being offered a profit-sharing agreement with the sportswear giant, seeing him receive a cut of any increase in Adidas’ profits resulting from his involvement in the MLS.
The idea behind this deal is that David Beckham supercharged the league to how it is at the moment, but Messi could send the projected growth through the roof. One of the commissioners of the MLS in 2007 stated that the MLS has a more global awareness than at any other time in history and has more legitimacy in the USA because of David Beckham. The growth was seen in every measure of the buisness. Shirt sales increased by 700-fold, merchandise increase by almost triple what was in previous years and also stadium attendance increased.
Messi’s presence could potentially have a similar effect on league-wide attendance, international exposure, merchandise sales and in attracting other players to make the move to the USA. It is difficult to imagine that any MLS stadium would not be full to watch a man that many peg as the greatest player in the history of the sport. Some clubs might be limited as their stadium capacity is only 30,000 seats which is drastically less than the 60,000 – 80,000 spectators that turned out to see Messi on his Barcelona pre-season tour in 2017.
The knockon effect of this deal is astronomical, but it has its downfall once it all fizzles out. PSG had a big increase in revenue when the Argentine joined, registering new sponsorship deals and even their following on social media spiked. After Messi’s departure, a lot of the momentum went away, with millions unfollowing PSG’s social media pages.
FIFA World Cup 2026 & Beyond
Inspiring the new crop of players is the aim for the coming years and what better way to do so than to have one of the best footballers play in your country. Young players who are within the system of Inter Miami will have the chance to learn first hand, tricks and nuances that will make their patch to the top easier and more accessible.
The USA has great ambitions for the upcoming FIFA World Cup and they hope that this transfer will charge up the potential of hosting the World Cup even more and hope that it has a better multiplier effect than before.