Ticket prices show that “Messi mania” has spread to the United States.
Lionel Messi, a famous soccer player, said on Wednesday that he will join the Major League Soccer team Inter Miami. This was a big surprise, especially since it came after rumors of a lucrative deal in Saudi Arabia and rumors of a move back to Barcelona, the team that made him famous.
VividSeats told CNN that prices for some games have gone up by nearly 1,000%, which is an amount that is rarely seen for MLS games.
It’s not clear when Messi will play his first game, but sources told the Athletic that it could be July 21, when Inter Miami plays Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup. VividSeats statistics show that the average price of a ticket is now $1,248. This is a 922% increase from Monday when it cost $120.
Prices for MLS games in the same league also went up a lot. For example, a ticket to see Inter Miami play New York Red Bulls on August 25 now costs $983. On Monday, the same ticket cost $99. The average price for a match between Inter Miami and Los Angeles FC on September 3 in a place in California went up by 400%, from $150 to $785.
Buying any of these tickets is a risk since a deal isn’t a sure thing, and the Argentine’s first match hasn’t been officially named. In a statement, MLS said that they were excited about the idea of Messi joining the league.
The league was happy to hear that Lionel Messi plans to join Inter Miami and Major League Soccer this summer. “Although work remains to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time to our League.”
It’s also good for Apple because its new TV streaming service shows MLS games. Multiple sources say that Messi’s deal gives him a chance to own part of Inter Miami and gives him a cut of the money from new subscribers to Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass streaming service.
Apple recently cut the price of a soccer contract for the rest of the season from $99 to $49. The company doesn’t share viewership numbers, but Apple SVP of Services Eddy Cue recently said that the number of subscribers and watchers is “much better than expected.”
Major League Soccer, Inter Miami, Messi’s agent, Apple, and David Beckham, who is part of Inter Miami’s ownership team, have all been contacted by CNN to confirm the financial information.
Before moving to Florida, Messi played for Paris Saint-Germain. In his two seasons there, he helped the team win two Ligue 1 titles, but he couldn’t help them win the Champions League for the first time in their history. Messi won 17 trophies in 17 years at Barcelona before joining PSG.