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Major League Soccer’s hottest new star is already paying off for Inter Miami.
The arrival of Lionel Messi, soccer’s all-time star, is expected to double the club’s revenues over the next 12 months, managing owner Jorge Mas told CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” The Argentine national player and former Barcelona star joined Inter Miami on Monday.
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Maas also said his team’s valuation could reach between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion next year. The most recent Forbes estimates named Miami as the 11th most valuable team in the American League, with a net worth of $600 million.
“When we started the Inter Miami project, we really did it because we wanted to be the number one platform for soccer in the United States,” Maas said.
Supporters of Argentine soccer player Leo Messi gather outside the Inter Miami DRV Pnk stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, July 11, 2023.
Marco Bello | Reuters
He said the process of bringing Messi to Miami began in 2019, when he and co-owner David Beckham traveled to Barcelona to meet Messi’s father.
“When does an athlete have the opportunity to change the sport, and I think that’s the opportunity Messi has in front of himself,” Maas said.
Maas said he is already seeing the massive “Messi influence” across the business and in South Florida.
“It’s the only thing anyone talks about,” he added.
Mas said that Messi’s shirts are sold out and Adidas prints them around the clock.
Sports e-commerce platform Fanatics told CNBC that Messi could set a record for the most jerseys sold to a player joining a new team in any sport after 24 hours. Messi’s sales are in line with the current record for first-day shirt sales set by Cristiano Ronaldo upon his move to Manchester United in 2021.
Ticket prices for Messi’s debut on Friday in the US average nearly $1,300 on secondary ticketing platforms such as TicketIQ.
Maas said he hopes the hype will help the MLS grow to compete with top-tier European leagues.
“I think I and my MLS partners and fellow owners have to seize the moment in front of us to hopefully raise MLS over the next three to five years to compete with the Premier League,” Maas said.
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