Lionel Messi is arguably the best player ever to stride on a soccer pitch and it is little wonder the pocket-rocket is opening the hearts and wallets of the American public.
The Argentine legend is a multiple league and cup winner for F.C. Barcelona in Spain as well as picking up a World Cup medal. He is also the record-setting 7-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Messi is giving MLS players plenty of nightmares, but is delighting Inter Miami fans and is proving a dream signing for the soccer fraternity in the United States of America.
He has been instrumental in the team winning 8 successive matches, as well as capturing an historic League Cup crown, and a final spot in the U.S. Open.
The dribbling wizard will make his MLS debut against the New York Red Bull team this weekend, with tickets prices going sky-high for the game. Some top-tier tickets are going for $,3000 while the average ticket goes for $496.
According to financial analysts Messi’s debut match is more in-demand than any NFL game.
"Messi’s MLS debut featuring Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and New York Red bulls is more in-demand than [any] team in the NFL, "said Communications Specialist Shana Rosenthal.
The US will host the Soccer World Cup in 2026, and interest in the sport is peaking in a country more akin to seeing football, basketball, hockey, and baseball greats superseding all others.
There was talk of moving the game from the 25,000-seater Red Bull Arena to the 82,000 MetLife Stadium, but the Jets and the Giants are playing a preseason game on the same night. Who would have thought that the idea of soccer overtaking football for ticket price and stadium allocation would be so real?
The MLS did, and Messi’s star power shows why soccer is the most popular sport in the world.
