Lionel Messi, widely believed to be the greatest football player of all time, has shocked the world and broken the hearts of countless football fans as the 35-year-old confirms his next club is to be outside of Europe and over in the United States with Inter Miami CF.
Rumours can finally be put to bed with Messi confirming his departure to the Major League Soccer, despite competition from the Saudi league and Messi’s beloved Barcelona who were all in contention to sign the 7-time Ballon d’Or winner on a free as his contract with Paris Saint-Germain has expired.
So what does this move actually mean for the world of football? For starters, I can already imagine countless new fans flocking to the MLS to tune in every time Messi plays. This will have a huge affect on the MLS, the league’s broadcast rights holders (Apple), Adidas, and football in the United States as a whole.
We’ve already seen a similar move like this before, although not as significant, when David Beckham (who’s also a part-owner of Inter Miami) moved to LA Galaxy in the MLS in 2007, during the height of his career.
Commercially, Messi will drive fans to U.S. football like nobody ever has before, including the likes of Beckham, Ibrahimovic, and Thierry Henry.
It’s been reported by ESPN that a cut of revenue from new subscribers to Apple’s MLS Season Pass streaming service has been offered to Messi. Despite Adidas outfitting clubs of the MLS since 2006, any agreement involving the German sportswear giants would strictly be between them and the player, and not directly involve the MLS.
Beckham helped shine a light on the MLS when he moved from Real Madrid in 2007, but Beckham was never the greatest player who ever lived and Messi‘s arrival in the U.S. could take the MLS to the moon and back again.
With the 2026 World Cup set to take place in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, the potential for football in the U.S. to greatly increase in every aspect is huge – maybe they’ll even stop calling the beautiful game ‘soccer’ one day?
As for Inter Miami, the club currently sits bottom of their league with the lowest expected goal (xG) ranking in the league of 0.82. But hey, if there’s anyone who can single handedly turn a club around, we all know who that is.
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