Argentina Captain Lionel Messi Helps MLS Smash Ticket Records – Forbes

The Major League Soccer campaign for 2024 will commence on February 21, and you guessed it: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will host the curtain raiser for the new season.

The Argentina captain has won everything he possibly could have in the beautiful game, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Now he sets his sights on the MLS trophy with Inter Miami and he will spend 2024 fighting for that title infront of sell-out crowds across the USA.

Lionel Messi has taken the MLS to new levels on and off the pitch. Needless to say he has earned the right to be the star of the show on the opening night of the season; much like on his Inter Miami debut last year when he came off the bench to score the winning goal with a trademark free-kick.

StubHub have previewed the upcoming MLS season with regards to ticketing and their findings show that ticket sales across the whole league have gone up by seven times thanks to the arrival of Lionel Messi.

Inter Miami’s ticket sales in particular have gone up by 150 times since the start of the 2023 season. It comes as no surprise that they now have the top sales numbers across the whole of the MLS.

The Lionel Messi effect is clearly in full-flow, and he is also in very good company this year, thanks to the arrival of his old F.C Barcelona teammate Luis Suárez, who was incredible again last season whilst playing for Grêmio in Brazil.

Alongside the likes of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Messi and Suárez will be looking to rack up the goals and compete for silverware in the United States this year. They will also represent their respective nations in the U.S this summer, whilst competing at the 2024 Copa America.

Football is growing rapidly in the U.S, thanks to stars like Messi and of course big international tournaments like the Copa America, which will be followed by the Club World Cup in 2025 and the World Cup itself in 2026. This is also represented in the massive StubHub sales increase for this upcoming MLS season.

Lionel Messi remains the biggest draw though; the 10 most in-demand MLS fixtures all include Inter Miami. Not only has Messi made being a Miami fan cool in Florida and across the country, but he has attracted thousands of rival fans and neutrals to watch him in away grounds.

StubHub also revealed that they have made sales in nine more countries than last year, as international fans flock to the U.S to catch a glimpse of the ‘GOAT.’

A matter of months ago Inter Miami were rock-bottom in the MLS and they couldn’t shift their game tickets. Now they could sell-out their stadium multiple times over. This is the Lionel Messi effect, and stadiums will be packed across the United States of America all year, as the magical Argentine drives Inter Miami on, in search of MLS glory for the first time in their history.