By: Kaja Antic, Sports Writer
“DON’T BE PLASTIC! SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CLUB!” a banner read, draped over a supporter’s section in Yankee Stadium. It was September 21, 2024, and New York City FC was playing host to Inter Miami, the star-studded team captained by soccer legend Lionel Messi.
Messi joined Inter Miami in July 2023, skyrocketing the club’s popularity in Major League Soccer (MLS) and worldwide. Many of his superstar former teammates joined in the week following his announcement, including Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Luis Suárez joined for the 2024 season later on. Messi’s former manager at both FC Barcelona and the Argentinian national team, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, also joined Inter Miami shortly before the star’s pen hit Miami’s paper.
Since Messi and his star-studded entourage strutted onto the eastern Florida panhandle, the profile of Inter Miami and MLS as a whole has risen — arguably to the detriment of everyday fans. Miami’s ticket prices for the 2023 season rose by five times the previous amount to $161 (USD) each after the Messi announcement — a price that is 64% above the league average for gameday prices.
When Inter Miami plays away games, stands are packed not just with the home team’s supporters, but also with Miami’s pink and black, with a smattering of Argentinian kits — typically bearing Messi’s number ten on the back. The prices to be in these stands have also risen substantially, as many saw this past May when Miami visited BC Place for their first matchup against the Vancouver Whitecaps on the 25th. When news broke that Messi, Busquets, and Suárez would be completely absent from the Saturday match, all hell broke loose.
This wasn’t the only match where a Messi no-show caused an uproar. Inter Miami had a planned international tour during the 2024 preseason, with two matches each in Saudi Arabia and the US, and one match each in El Salvador, Hong Kong, and Japan. While Messi physically attended the match in Hong Kong, he did not play, as he instead sat on the substitute bench after gaining an injury during his previous matches. Outrage struck as a result, from fans destroying Messi cardboard cutouts, to the booing of Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham after the match had concluded. Messi reappeared in Tokyo just days later, playing 30 minutes in the match there, sparking theories that his Hong Kong no-show was “politically motivated.”
The World Cup-winning Argentinian national team had two scheduled “friendly” matches that were supposed to take place on mainland China in March, though both the match against Nigeria in Hangzhou and against Ivory Coast in Beijing were cancelled following Messi’s no-show in Hong Kong. The Chinese Football Association also cancelled its partnership with the Argentine Football Association in the wake of this controversy.
The 2024 regular season was a record-breaking one for Inter Miami, as they won the MLS regular season championship with the Supporters’ Shield — and set a points-scoring record in the process. Despite this, the team were eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs in a major upset against eighth-seed Atlanta United.
“Lionel Messi is one of the best, arguably if not the best, soccer player of all time. Still, the star is slowly fading as injuries pile up after a lifetime on the pitch.”
Messi is one of the best, arguably if not the best, soccer player of all time. Still, the star is slowly fading as injuries pile up after a lifetime on the pitch.
Much of the MLS marketing tactics since the 37-year-old’s arrival have centered around him. I cannot begin to estimate the amount of times I’ve seen the ad of a dyed pink goat while watching the MLS Season Pass. Nearly half of the first page of jerseys on the MLS Store website are Messi- or Miami-related. Even the MLS email newsletter touts itself as “the Messi insider.”
The league is banking on a player bringing them into a new era, when the player himself won’t even be there.
The MLS is facing an era where they are “the Messi league” — despite the fact that Messi only played 19 games of Miami’s 34-game MLS season. His current contract runs to the end of the upcoming 2025 MLS season, and the prolific forward has stated that Miami will be the last club he plays for in his storied career.
Inter Miami have also gained a spot in FIFA’s upcoming Club World Cup — despite not technically winning their league after being eliminated in the playoffs. This has also caused controversy, as some have claimed that the club’s inclusion is only due to their captain’s starpower, and the cashflow his appearance can generate.
I’m not saying that high ticket prices and tricky geopolitical situations are Lionel Messi’s personal fault, as I personally think he deserves the “GOAT” moniker — in men’s soccer, that is. The MLS has just walked itself into an impossible scenario with no foresight. With the high likelihood of the league losing their highest moneymaker within the next few years, they seem to lack a contingency plan in carrying on this attention past the final whistle of the 2025 season.
With the next season starting late next February, only time will tell what Messi’s potential last club season will look like — along with how the MLS will recover from his impending departure. Until then, I guess MLS fans across North America should buckle up for another year of fighting for a place in their home stadiums whenever soccer’s golden boy touches the pitch (or doesn’t).
