Inter Miami has the greatest player of recent years (Lionel Messi), yes… but it is still a sporting-commercial miracle. Just one fact: it was created in 2018, started competing in MLS in 2020 and, in that short time, it already surpasses some European giants in some commercial concepts.
Evidently, a club needs to win to have history and fans. And that’s why Jorge Mas, the owner of the franchise, thought of Leo to put together a team that, on the pitch, is not only Messi: Lucho Suarez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Oscar Ustari, Fede Redondo…
Miami is the fashionable post-pandemic city in the United States and this Inter is just right for the city to sell soccer in the face of so much American sport. To this end, the entity, which is now run by Catalan executive Xavi Asensi, created a well thought-out plan with some fashion items: the pink clothing; the inclusion of David Beckham in the ownership; the proliferation of celebrities in the boxes… all to make Miami an attractive club.
And not so much thinking about the present, which is assured with Leo and the other stars, but about the future. Miami will be the protagonist of the soccer world in three consecutive summers: Copa America 2024; Club World Cup 2025; and World Cup 2026 and this place needs goodies to generate added value for the future.
A future, by the way, that will be marked by the Miami Freedom Park (25,000 spectators), the club’s new stadium that is being built next to the city’s airport and is expected to be completed by 2026. With this stadium, Inter will move into another commercial dimension, and will not only depend on match days: various events, shopping centers, concerts, weddings…
The franchise’s executives must be scratching their heads to make a club profitable in the most capitalist country in the world but with the most communist soccer laws. Of Inter Miami’s $200 million in revenue, only 2% comes from television, by virtue of an outdated distribution imposed by MLS, by which the Colorado Rapids, to give an example of a team with little appeal, earns the same as an Inter Miami that is fought over to watch on television (Apple TV) and live (the teams are sold out at every visit of Lionel Messi).
In Miami, they are amazed by Leo’s presence, but so is MLS. The data is overwhelming. The 2023-24 season saw a record attendance of 11,461,409 fans, 6% more than in 2022-23 and 15% more than in 2021-22. In July 2023, the month of Messi’s debut, Apple TV added 300,000 new subscribers to the MLS Season Pass, doubling its subscriber base.
The number 10 Inter Miami shirt was the best-selling shirt (as of yesterday), contributing to a 41% increase in merchandising sales – Suarez’s is the second best-selling shirt. The “Messi effect” also benefited other clubs: their rivals generated an extra $84 million in ticket sales just by hosting Inter Miami. The average ticket price increased by 1,700%. In the season following his arrival alone, box office revenues reached $265 million. The same goes for social media. Since LM’s signing, the number of followers has increased exponentially.The club also gets its share. Its value has increased by 103% to $1.19 billion.
Inter Miami, meanwhile, leave their Miami stronghold to face a Porto side in which Gabri Veiga will be on the bench. The Herons hope to have Jordi Alba back, as he was unable to play on the first matchday when they drew 0-0 with Al Ahly, the same result that Porto had with Palmeiras. With these results, and in a group that is expected to be very close, today’s result, in case of victory, could mean half a ticket to the last 16.
Messi faces the clash with the record of never having been eliminated in the group stage of a competition in his career, including clubs and national team, and does not want to be less in this Club World Cup that will end, on the third day, against Palmeiras at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
This news was originally published on this post .
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