New report details Lionel Messi's impact on Inter Miami and the MLS since his move to the side in 2023
Inter Miami have doubled their revenue since Lionel Messi's arrival at the Chase Stadium, according to ESPN. The Argentinean superstar arrived at the Florida-based club in the summer of 2023 and has taken the MLS by storm.
Lionel Messi is a household name in the football world. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is considered by many to be the greatest footballer to have ever stepped foot on Earth.
Messi achieved tremendous success with Barcelona before leaving the club as a free agent in 2021 to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). After winning two Ligue 1 titles with the Parisians, he moved on to a new adventure with Inter Miami.
The Herons secured his services on a Bosman move, in a contract reportedly worth $150m. That decision has already paid off on the pitch, with the 37-year-old guiding them to their first silverware - the Leagues Cup - in 2023. It appears that Lionel Messi has had an astronomical impact off the pitch as well.
The club registered a revenue of $50-60m in 2022, before Messi's arrival. That number rose to $120-130m in 2023 as the player entered the scenes. This year, the Florida-based side are expected to earn in excess of $200m!
The player's arrival has put the MLS in the spotlight across the world. The presence of one of the best players in the world has helped the league gain tremendous popularity.
Speaking recently, Inter Miami president of business operations Xavier Asensi insisted that Messi has helped take the Herons to the global stage.
"It is completely night and day [after signing Messi], because what we are doing now with the team is totally on an international level. Now we are talking about the global interest. Now it is football, not soccer," said Asensi.
The huge surge in earnings this year is almost entirely due to 'Messi Mania', which has helped the club register record-breaking sponsorship agreements and create massive demand for tickets and merchandise.
Lionel Messi has helped Inter Miami sign 11 multi-year sponsorship deals in 2024
Lionel Messi's presence at Inter Miami has helped the club sign 11 multi-year agreements this year, with parties like Audi, Visa, JP Morgan Chase, and others. These include record-breaking deals with Fracht (jersey sleeve) and Royal Caribbean (front and center of jerseys), which are the largest in their category in the MLS.
Luciana Resende Lotze, Visa's head of marketing for Latin America and the Caribbean, summed up Messi's appeal in a nutshell.
"Inter Miami has an international appeal, which is a very big difference for that team [compared to before Messi joined]," said Lotze.
He continued:
"Despite obviously being a team from the United States that plays in MLS, it has many fans around the world. That's why the partnership is international, and the idea is that we can then do those promotions and talk about that sponsorship all over the world."
Lionel Messi has scored 28 goals and set up 17 more from 33 games across competitions for Inter Miami to date.