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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<ul><li>Argentine icon moved to America in 2023</li><li>Made immediate impact on &amp; off the pitch</li><li>Garber eager to avoid one-man show in States</li></ul><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

MLS urged to avoid ‘lazy’ NFL & Taylor Swift trap with Lionel Messi as Inter Miami superstar dominates domestic game in the United States

Major League Soccer

Philadelphia Union

Inter Miami CF

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/lionel-messi-effect-inter-miami-staggering-social-media-numbers-revealed-mls-side-soar-above-nfl-mls-nba-giants/bltc1643196ac903612" target="_blank">captured the imagination of American sports fans</a> in the summer of 2023 when completing a stunning move to Florida. The Argentine icon made an immediate impact on and off the pitch, with <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/like-seeing-michael-jordan-greatest-why-tickets-lionel-messi-show-inter-miami-remain-expensive/blt630bce8421fa19c0" target="_blank">ticket prices soaring</a> as his every move was dissected in minute detail.

WHAT HAPPENED?

MLS commissioner Don Garber wants to avoid domestic soccer in the States becoming a one-man show, with American football having shown how attention can be diverted away from what really matters when it comes to the relationship between <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/lionel-messi-inter-miami-mls-super-bowl-taylor-swift-nfl/blt39d85cdceedca32c" target="_blank">pop superstar Swift and Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce</a>. Garber has told the <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/02/21/mls-don-garber-lionel-messi?publicationSource=closingbell&amp;issue=04296b72411b4d40a90659c2ec193faa " target="_blank">Sports Business Journal</a>: “I think it's easy and somewhat lazy for reporters to just write about Messi. It's like writing about Taylor Swift. There's so much more here that I think people need to recognise. Lionel Messi helped take our league to new heights, but this league before Messi was signed last year, had a trajectory of record attendance and innovation with Apple and our Leagues Cup partnership. We will have a record game in July, where the Galaxy will play LAFC in the Rose Bowl - they're anticipating over 82,000 fans. It'll be likely the largest regular-season soccer game in the world in 2024. That game will be our two LA clubs and won't include Lionel Messi. We all need to remember that Messi helped take this league to new heights and gave us momentum on a trajectory that was established in the years leading up to building a league that Messi would want to be a part of.”

WHAT GARBER SAID ABOUT MESSI

Garber has also explained how <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/explained-why-lionel-messi-mls-apple-adidas-set-new-transfer-trend-inter-miami-soon-hit-europe-premier-league-la-liga/blt7e18a477be69411d" target="_blank">Messi’s arrival in America has helped MLS</a> to <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/how-lionel-messi-magic-inter-miami-help-mls-become-transfer-bridge-la-galaxy-david-beckham-new-era/blt0dfd56068e508fe0" target="_blank">compete with leading divisions around the world</a> when it comes to marquee transfers. He added: “Traditionally, the biggest names in the sport gravitate to the biggest clubs in Europe. We've seen that with the Galacticos starting with Manchester United and now Man City, the Galacticos over time in Real Madrid, the great players that have worn the Barcelona jersey. Major League Soccer, due to Messi's desire to come to our league and choose Major League Soccer and Inter Miami, we're part of the global conversation. And as you read interviews with players around the world, the biggest names in the sport, MLS is constantly part of the message. That dynamic is something that I think will be part of the next generation of MLS growth for years to come. It's not just the fact that Messi is here and has had success."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Messi <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/44-trophies-lionel-messi-all-time-record-very-good-hands-inter-miami-tata-martino-historic-leagues-cup/blt4c0a84c28d5bf241 " target="_blank">inspired Inter Miami to League Cup glory</a> within weeks of his arrival, and the Herons took in a <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/slap-in-face-angry-lionel-messi-fans-hong-kong-offered-50-refund-inter-miami-superstar-no-show-controversial-friendly/blt261a7cbf97032995" target="_blank">historic pre-season tour</a> ahead of the 2024 MLS campaign that took them from El Salvador to Japan via Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. They made a <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/player/lionel-messi/news/c5ryhn04g9goikd0blmh83aol" target="_blank">winning start to the new season against Real Salt Lake</a> and will be in Hollywood for a meeting with the LA Galaxy on Sunday.

WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?

MLS urged to avoid ‘lazy’ NFL & Taylor Swift trap with Lionel Messi as Inter Miami superstar dominates domestic game in the United States | Goal.com US

MLS has been warned against replicating the “lazy” coverage of Taylor Swift in NFL circles when it comes to Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi.