Inter Miami 'shocked' by Lionel Messi reception from MLS rivals as Jorge Mas says Argentine icon has chance to ‘change a sport’ in America

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner completed a stunning move to the United States in the summer of 2023 when reaching the end of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain. The Barcelona legend decided to bid farewell to European football at that stage as he crossed the Atlantic and set up camp in Florida.

Messi has made an immediate impact at DRV PNK Stadium – helping Inter Miami to Leagues Cup glory – and continues to attract A-list guests to every game he graces. Ticket prices soar whenever he is due to take to the field, with Jorge Mas telling El Club del Deportista of the “extraordinary” welcome the World Cup winner has enjoyed across the States: “MLS is different. Every time we play away from home the stadiums are full. The reception for Lionel has been extraordinary. The game in New York, with almost 30,000 fans, 80 per cent of them shouting Messi's name, there were Argentina shirts and pink Inter Miami shirts. I was shocked, I didn't expect that. To see the impact Lionel has had, how he is raising the interest in the league and how the world now sets its eyes on the American league. There will be a before and after Messi's arrival in MLS.”

Inter Miami president Mas has also revealed how he helped to talk Messi into making a move to America, with the all-time great presented with an opportunity to further enhance his legacy. Mas added of conversations with Messi’s father, Jorge: “I told him, 'Your son will have the opportunity to create a new legacy because he is going to be able to change a sport in a country,' and that is given in very few opportunities to an athlete. I kept in constant communication with Jorge, it was four-and-a-half years of convincing Lionel and having him decide with his family. I never lost faith. I was convinced that Lionel Messi was going to come to Miami. I spent a lot of time talking to Lionel about Miami, about his family, about his future and I saw that there was a great possibility of being able to close something after the World Cup, in January or February.”

Messi committed to a two-and-a-half-year contract upon his arrival in Miami, with there an option within that agreement for an extension through 2026. That would take the 36-year-old into and beyond the next World Cup finals, which are due to be co-hosted by the United States.