Formerly seen as an early retirement home, or simply a haven to milk the cash cow for footballers past their prime, the US’s Major League Soccer (MLS) has landed its biggest star yet.
Lionel Messi announced on Wednesday that he will join David Beckham’s Inter Miami when his contract at Paris Saint Germain runs out at the end of June.
Inter Miami, founded in 2018, was the third option on the table for the Argentine, as he looked set for a fairy-tale return to Barcelona or to take a contract worth $1 billion in Saudi Arabia.
But at 35, Messi wants to end his career with less pressure and to focus on his family. In a joint interview with Spanish outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport, he admitted that the past two years in Paris were not good at a “family level”.
“Now I will close my career in this country and experience the MLS in a different way, enjoying the day-to-day much more — but with the same responsibility of wanting to win, and always doing things well, but with more peace of mind.”
“I am also in a moment where I want to get out of focus a bit, think more about my family. I spent two years at a family level that was so bad that I didn’t enjoy it. I had a month that was spectacular for me for having won the World Cup, but removing that was a difficult stage for me,” Messi said.
It’s possible that Beckham could have influenced Messi’s decision in some way. In 2018, when Beckham initially invested $25 million to become a majority owner at Inter Miami, Messi was quick to congratulate him.
Beckham’s influence on football in the US has been extraordinary. He was the first player to bring eyes to the MLS after joining in 2007 and, in the 16 years since then, attendance has increased by 40%. The league’s annual television deal revenue has increased by more than 3 000% from £6.4 million in 2006 to £203 million in 2023.
Beckham’s initial investment to become a co-owner in Inter Miami now feels like a drop in the ocean. In February 2023, Forbes valued the club at $600 million, making it the 11th most valued team in MLS.
Los Angeles FC is the highest valued club at just over $1 billion. However, the signing of Messi could push Inter Miami’s value towards that $1 billion mark, with shirt sales alone for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner expected to break records in the US.
In 2022, $130 million was generated from Messi shirt sales and Inter Miami’s total revenue for 2022 was $56 million. Messi’s appearance in the MLS will also increase the local and international audience for the league and bring much more attention to Inter Miami.
A smart signing for Beckham’s team but his decision to go to the US in 2007 now seems like the best decision of his life — financially, of course.
He took a huge pay cut at the time but was very clever about how he negotiated future opportunities for himself, such as the clause that allowed him to purchase the right to buy an MLS expansion team.
Messi’s introduction into football in the US could be a booster shot to Beckham’s injection in the early 2000s. Beckham, who was a football superstar, turned eyes to a dying league, influencing other big-name footballers to make their way to the US and increasing ticket sales and TV rights deals for the MLS.
Before the news was even official that Messi would join Inter Miami, opponents of Inter Miami sold thousands of tickets. Messi could play his first game for the Miami outfit on 8 July against DC United, who sold more than 3 000 tickets for that game on Wednesday alone.
Chicago Fire, who play Inter Miami in October — Messi will definitely play then — sold north of 10 000 tickets on Wednesday, more than they had sold since the time the tickets were released, despite Chicago raising the cheapest ticket to $250.
Yahoo Sports reported that when Messi makes his debut, the tickets will probably be the most expensive in MLS history.
Messi’s arrival could help football become a more popular sport in the US. The likes of basketball, American football and baseball are still far more popular, and with the US being a co-host for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, they will need the magic of the little Argentinian to bring the World Cup fever to the American audience.
Three years to the next World Cup and even though there is no longer pressure on Messi to win titles, the pressure of driving the sport further in the US, and generating interest ahead of 2026, definitely lies on his shoulders.