Lionel Messi’s impact be on U.S. Soccer and Inter Miami already being felt

Inter Miami, Messi’s new team, has already benefited from a huge boost in social media followers, while ticket prices all around the league are soaring. Why? Fans eagerly await Messi’s first visit and arrival to play against the MLS clubs.

The minute Messi announced he would be moving to Major League Soccer, tickets prices for Inter Miami games soared by more than 1,000%. According to resale website TickPick, the cheapest ticket for Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul on July 21 – potentially Messi’s first game – was just $29. However, in the first 24 hours after Messi’s move, the cheapest ticket was $329 – a surge of 1,234%.

But, the increase could be felt by other teams. Miami’s game away to Los Angeles FC has gone from the 15th highest-selling event in LAFC’S season to the second place – and is on track to be No. 1.

Inter Miami’s social media was also another area that grew. Before the announcement, the club had around one million followers on Instagram; as of June 13, it now has 7.8 million – more than every NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS team account.

“Converting followers or monetizing followers is always a challenge,” Maguire adds. “It helps in terms of commercial deals because if you want to pitch to a commercial partner, you can now say: ‘Well, your product is now going to be seen by six million people instead of one million.”