Messi Mania has landed in Los Angeles, as the greatest player in soccer history comes to La La Land this weekend for Inter Miami's regular season matchup with the reigning champions, Los Angeles Football Club.
Messi's impact in the league, the sport, and the economy has been undeniable since the moment he was introduced at Drive Pink Stadium on July 16.
Since that day, tickets for not only Inter Miami, but across the league have skyrocketed. Season ticket requests increased by 1,215 percent, and the price of Inter Miami single game tickets rose over 1,000 percent.
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Prior to Messi joining Inter Miami, the lowest ticket price for a match was about $25. After Messi's signing, that price is now a minimum of $280. In less than 48 hours since the announcement of Messi joining Inter Miami was made, sales on StubHub for Inter Miami matches increased 2800 percent, with the team going from seventh to first in highest-selling (cumulative season sales) for the 2023 season.
“Since the stunning news that Lionel Messi will sign with Inter Miami, sales for the club have more than doubled on StubHub," said Adam Budelli, a spokesperson for StubHub. "Inter Miami’s games in July and beyond have seen a 2800 percent increase in sales, an impact that can only be made by one of the greatest sports figures of all time.”
Messi's impact has increased search engines across the internet as well. According to Google Trends, searches for "MLS," "Inter Miami," and "Messi" after he was introduced soared by over 322% for all-time record highs.
But Messi's impact on ticket demand wasn't isolated to Miami alone. MLS teams across the country saw their ticket prices soar as well, especially for matches when Inter Miami was in town.
For Inter Miami's first regular season matchup against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday, ticket prices increased over 1,000 percent. According to ticket reseller VividSeats, the average price for the match was $483.
For fans in Los Angeles, $483 is a bargain! According to TickPick, the current "get-in" price for Sunday's showdown between Messi and the defending champions is $789.
For comparison, the average price for season tickets to the Los Angeles Rams this season is $684. That means you could purchase tickets to eight different NFL games at SoFi stadium for over $100 less than one ticket to see Messi play LAFC.
Prior to Messi's arrival, the match between last-place Inter Miami and LAFC was just the 15th best-selling ticket for the team's 2023 campaign. Now, it's the No. 1 selling game on their schedule.
“Messi will be a draw for soccer fans across the country, drawing fans to away games much like we see with big stars in the NFL and NBA," said Budelli. "As an example, Inter Miami’s visit at LAFC in September has jumped from LAFC’s #15 to #1 highest-selling event of the 2023 season.
The Messi Effect extends beyond the pitch as well. According to Apple TV, which is the exclusive rights holder for MLS Season Pass, subscriptions have more than doubled since Messi joined the league.
Adidas and Fanatics announced that Messi's jersey sales have smashed the previous record. The first 24 hours after the pink Inter Miami jerseys went on sale, Messi shattered the previous record sales of LeBron James when he joined the Lakers, Tom Brady when he joined the Tampa Bay Buccanners, and Cristiano Ronaldo when he re-joined Manchester United.
For the month of July, Fanatics announced that Inter Miami's jersey sales were the top-selling team among all professional sports.
"That is unheard of for an MLS team," said a spokesperson for Fanatics. "The day following the Messi news, Inter Miami merchandise sales spiked 5000 percent than the previous 'pre-Messi' day."
Messi's Inter Miami jersey, available in both pink and black, is currently sold out on both company's websites, and only available via backorder that won't ship until mid-October at the earliest.
Need more examples of the Messi effect? Look no further than social media. Messi's arrival to MLS has changed the fortunes of Inter Miami and their players' follower count across the board.
According to SafeBettingSites.com, Inter Miami has amassed over 20 million total followers across social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, more than any other MLS club by a wide margin.
Prior to Messi's arrival, Inter Miami had less than three million total followers across those social media platforms. That's an increase of nearly 600 percent!
In comparison, the LA Galaxy, the team that had amassed the largest following on those social media platforms in the MLS prior to Messi's arrival, currently is the second most popular team with a following of 4.65 million on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In fact, if you combined all the other 28 teams total followers account, they would still not have as much as Inter Miami does.
On Instagram alone, Inter Miami's followers have gone from less than a million, to nearly 15 million in a month. On TikTok, they went from less than 500,000 followers to now 6.8 million and counting, making them the most followed professional sports team in the United States on the platform.
Messi's teammates have seen the effect their striker has on their own personal social media accounts as well. Robert Taylor, Inter Miami's midfielder that hails from Finland, saw his Instagram account go from less than 10,000 followers to over 206,000 followers within days.
Needless to say, business is booming for Messi and the MLS. The eyes of the world are now on the league, and soccer as a whole, something of a rarity in a country that has the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Experts expect the Messi effect will not slow down any time soon either.
Messi currently has 11 goals in his first nine games with Inter Miami, and has already won the club their first trophy in franchise history. He's one win away from earning the team's second, and if he can resurrect the club from bottom of the table to the MLS Cup Playoffs by the end of October, then his legend will only grow.
With success comes rewards, and the more Messi wins in MLS, than the money, endorsements, followers, and revenue for everyone will only continue to soar.
