Lionel Messi joining Major League Soccer is different. He’s arguably the best player to ever lace up football boots, with otherworldly skill and timing. The Argentine star, who announced on Wednesday that he will sign for MLS club Inter Miami, could be taking to the field at the perfect time in US soccer history.
Messi just lifted the World Cup trophy for Argentina, cementing his legacy as the GOAT of football by winning the sport’s most significant tournament. By the time he retires from MLS – assuming he exercises his 2026 option – the next World Cup final will be played on US soil.
He turned down a reported billion-dollar offer from a Saudi Arabian club to move to MLS for a deal that, with reported revenue-sharing components with Apple and Adidas and potential ownership, could find yourself in a billion-dollar deal.
One of the best comparison to this move is Pelé, but that is probably an even bigger one due to the location of soccer in the United States. When Pelé got here to the US in the late 70’s to play for the Cosmos it was a sensation but in our country it’s different because there’s an infrastructure of world class players 26 MLS football stadiums and 2026 a little bit thing called the World Cup held in the USA , Canada and Mexico.
“Messi will be greater than anything Pelé has done,” Apple MLS principal analyst Taylor Twellman told The Post.
The 35-year-old Messi has the dominant longevity of Tom Brady while still twiddling with a talent that even Stephen Curry would envy. But most of all, he may be chasing one other sports legend.
“Messi wants to be as big a world star as Michael Jordan,” Twellman told The Post. “The one way he could get there’s by hooking up to the United States. Copa America [South America’s prestigious tournament in 2024], the World Cup, and now Messi will be in the States for the next three years, where his stardom and fame will reach latest heights. He couldn’t try this in Saudi Arabia.”
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund has just taken over the PGA Tour. The dominion’s teams also gather a few of football’s biggest stars – including Cristiano Ronaldo, who earns over $200 million a 12 months.
With Inter Miami, Messi will apparently get a share of Adidas and Apple sales from the MLS. Apple TV+ will also air a documentary about Messi. His total transaction should be no less than lots of of hundreds of thousands. The business impact of the transaction is potentially huge and any price might have been value it.
Apple’s grand plan to make its presence felt in sports just got an enormous boost. Its Apple TV+ service is home to all MLS games for $99 a 12 months. It is on the market worldwide.
What number of fans, young and old, will feel the need to extort money to see the last matches of the biggest in history?
The service, in its first 12 months, apparently got off to a slow start and didn’t post any subscription numbers. Something tells me they could allow a couple of leaks once Messi is a component of the product.
Messi is a Taylor Swift-type performer who can sell MLS/Apple globally. This can be a huge victory for Apple.
MLS will not be completely losing its fame as a league of retirees as Messi retires. Europe continues to reign as the champion of the best competition amongst club teams. Nevertheless, there isn’t any successor to Messi’s throne. Nobody with a talent that compels you to look out for his craftsmanship. And Messi’s magic now belongs to the MLS.
If MLS is ever to truly compete with the top leagues, Messi’s success could go a great distance.
In fact, the transaction involves risk. For a crazy amount needless to say. Messi can get hurt or lose interest.
But that is the end of the legacy. When it comes to soccer in the United States, what Messi stands for will not be known until the next decade.
At the moment, children who’re football fans often wear the shirts of Barcelona, Manchester City and Dortmund. In the future you may see more NYCFC, LA Galaxy and Inter Miami kits.
But what could really occur – when you want to dream about the potential of playing in our country – is the next Messi born in the United States and playing his entire MLS profession.
That is why Messi’s signatures are different from Pelé’s. is greater. And the momentum of a deal can reverberate for many years.