Messi-mania has swept the nation, drawing crowds to sold-out stadiums to witness the 36-year-old in action. Messi merchandise is in high demand, and Apple attributes a surge in Apple TV+ subscribers to his Major League Soccer presence. The MLS aims to harness Messi’s popularity as the U.S. prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Watch the video above to find out whether Messi wearing the Inter Miami jersey until 2025 could supercharge professional soccer in the U.S.
Produced by: Anuz Thapa
Supervising Producer: Jeff Morganteen
Narration: Jordan Smith
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Major League Soccer
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Could Lionel Messi Supercharge Professional Soccer In The U.S.?
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Lionel Messi is the best 🐐🏆👑🥇⚽️
its just awful that the yanks all that can think of is how much they can gain from Messi… United States is the most hatred country in the world, and this is one of the reasons why……
Yes
I always supported mls since I grew up in Columbus and the only pro sports teams is the nhl blue jackets and mls crew (shout out my Ohio state football which I follow more than anything but I said pro sports lol) I love seeing this league grow hopefully we can be up there with the biggest leagues in the world soon
Messi is the most cooler footballer i have ever seen. This man don't show off, hes very humbled.
Mickey Mouse league.
he didn't really have to "chose" much as they offered him $50 million
They forgot to mention Zlatan Ibrahimović
*FOOTBALL
My friends worship that dude
Every thing in America is about money and capitalism, just enjoy the game for passion's sake,damn it.
Nice
one of these matches Messi is going to do his signature "go through 4 to 6 players and score a goal" move and the Americans will probably loose their minds seeing that.
Soccer is king of sport . It is number one sport in the world . That is a reason Messi King effect the fan in USA
Football not soccer..
As much as I’m happy for the leagues growth and how his arrival will accelerate it. I can’t help but be worried whether these new inter Miami fans and new mls viewers will stick around after he’s gone?
Зборище європейських пенсіонерів))))
what hes doing for america is crazy
Everyone knows the U.S. is super passionate about sports..
The rest of the world would love nothing more than seeing the U.S. get on board as a major contender, and it takes fans to do that.
One of the main reasons Soccer (Football) has been stifled in the U.S. is because advertisers hate it.
45 minutes with no ads and only a slotted amount of time at half-time to run ads is problematic for the companies that pay the bills.
Think about it… almost 30% of all American Football games are just advertisements. That could never happen in Soccer.
The sport needs to be re-structured for the mass audience. This is a great first step.
Funny that they don´t talk about Busquets, who probably is one of the best that have played that league ever also. Better player than Beckham I think at least in titles and technique
His only limit in the US market is that he can’t speak English. I mean imagine if he could go on talk shows and tv people would fall in love with him not to say he doesn’t already have influence but it would meteoric if he could express himself to the US audience because that’s just how the American brain works
Fútbol ⚽⚽⚽ becouse you use the foots 👣 .. american fútbol it's rugby fútbol was discovered in England 1863 end fútbol will the biggest sport in us … basquetbol baseball ⚾ they er local no so internacional… Messi it's most well-known all over the world the biggest atlet of the planet…. america it's a continent no a country…they do not own all the world… adios 😅
MLS needs more star players like Saudi Pro League
The problem with soccer in the US is the reluctance for the sport or MLS to change the rules to make the game more entertaining (like the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA all have done). Soccer is rarely the number one sport in countries where it has legitimate competition whether that's cricket in India, baseball in Japan, basketball in Lithuania, Aussie Rules in Australia and rugby in New Zealand.
Barcelona fan here wearing pink now too 😉
Most important sports celebrity of that guys life time? and he's 70sh. No. Close but no. Its big for soccer but dont talk out of your butt.
No
Soccer popularity in US can only go up..The only issue will be is that, The infrastructure to train youths to be a pro isn't there yet compared to their American Football infrastruture which is well developed. MLs will be mostly foreign players for the foreseeable future.
Los.mismo dijeron de Beckham. Y mo pasa nada
👏🐐⚽️🔥
No America only has to call it like everybody els!!! Football it is, American football is not even a football it is a handegg, and is played with your hands
I truely hope Messi can play football in American at least in the next 3 years. I believe he's able to change how American think about football. Being a big fan of him for more than 12 years, I've never seen something like this before, every news i see are almost about him. Other professional football players are eclipsed by LEO.
Money lots of it
MLS still has a long way to go.
One of the greatest players of all time owns the Miami club. No one cared. Messi joins and everyone goes wild. Once he retires, no one will care about MLS again
No. America is pay to play not about talent. Too many mediocre wealthy kids make up most teams for the professional pool. I applaud Messi for making a pile of money in his sunset years in a much less stressful, lower expectation, less relevant league.
Honestly Messi should have taken the billion dollars the Saudis offered and just retire for good in 4 years.
Awesome that Messi is the biggest thing in FL and wearing pink! The USA needs more immigrants to play world-class football! No wonder DeSantis is toast. Did they check Messi's drivers license?
I still miss him at Barca i hope one day he will come back maybe not as a player but coach or another function like Xavi and Deco
I hope other MLS teams now considering bringing on some big international talent.
Learn: Football, football, football. NOT SOCCER. IS FOOTBALL
its football ffs