They are just whining because now their favorite oil blood money team now has to compete against leagues that operate in a more collective and intelligent way. Boo hoo.
What is the possibility (high, moderate, or low) that Messi is getting a cut of new MLS Season Pass subscriptions? Basically any subscription since his announcement?
Seems almost certain. Many resources reporting on that. But that's no different than a sponsor subsidizing a signing.
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler 'excited' for Lionel Messi's impact on city https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...jimmy-butler-excited-lionel-messi-impact-city
🗣️ Inter Miami GK Nick Marsman: “I personally think that this club is not ready for Messi's arrival. We have a temporary stadium, people can just walk on the pitch, there are no gates. We also leave for the stadium without security. I think they aren't ready. But I hope he… pic.twitter.com/mNcIXCDWfC— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) June 8, 2023
To think of when the Miami Fusion played at that stadium, got contracted in 2003. To now MLS in Miami is getting Lionel Messi in 2023. If anyone on the outside looking in on the growth of professional soccer in our nation, this is it.
I don't think this is ever going to happen. What MLS needs to aspire to is to be is in the spot where they are just above the Eredivisie and just below the top four leagues. Maybe this is the level of Ligue 1 in France, but I'm not sure about that yet. MLS can and should be a place where bright young stars want to be right before going to one of the Big 4 leagues. You can build a big marketing presence in the US that can stay with you when you go to Europe. Alphonso Davies is the prototype for the type of player that MLS needs to cultivate. These players will be American, South American, and probably even some Europeans. Where I feel Messi can and will be a major benefit for MLS is to build the visibility of the league to where these young soon-to-be-stars want to follow in his footsteps, become a big brand/presence, and then transfer to Europe and still have that US marketing presence.
I've been reading fan comments on the San Jose Earthquakes boards, because it keeps popping up on recent. You guys are awfully salty in your forum about this Messi deal. Are Inter Miami rivals or something? Annoyed the Southern East cost state is getting the greatest player ever? Meanwhile the Southern West coast state has to look?
The problem as far as marketing goes is that so many people seem to think of "Europe" as just the big clubs -- the ones that perennially make the UCL knockout stage. Hypothetically, if MLS reaches the point where every single club in MLS could qualify for the Europa League out of a top-5 Euro league, it would be the strongest league in the world, and yet it would still likely be viewed as inferior to "Europe."
For me as a kid, I loved to watch and follow the NY Cosmos and all the superstars. Giorgio Chinaglia scoring in every game was just awesome to watch. He was actually my childhood hero. I also loved seeing them lose, especially when they lost to the Quakes. Therefore, I'm sure most Quakes fans like and care about Messi signing with Miami but it's not our club so we can't be too excited about it. Maybe we are just lukewarm as opposed to salty on the deal. Anyway, on the strength of Messi’s signing, all Inter Miami’s games home and away are sold out! Prety cool! All Inter Miami tickets, both home and away for the rest of the MLS season, sold out after Messi signing
Cool but not true. There are still loads of seats available in Chicago that are being sold by the team (ie - not resale). I did get 16x face value for my season ticket yesterday though, which is extremely cool.
the MLS expansion wars will be heating up in dramatic fashion-- San Diego, 2025, $500 mill ($175 mill more than Charlotte 2 years back)- the Messi effect will be even more dramatic on expansion fees you gotta think that expansion #31, 32 will be closer to $800 mill - probably 2026-2027-- and we can surmise the League will eventually cap-out at 36 (2 conferences of 18 teams each) which cities have that type of investor in the League, let alone building their own stadium ? you gotta think Las Vegas, detroit, indianapolis, phoenix- but it will mostly come down to a multi-billionaire owner(s) with a city that has some history for soccer, a city willing to work with the owner(s) on building a soccer-specific stadium and is in a dynamic media/population market (Sacramento will have a hard time competing, IMO)
Expansion wars???? WTF? There aren't going to be any "expansion wars." The cost to enter MLS is now $1B+. The pool of potential owners is too shallow now. Could MLS expand beyond 30 teams? It's possible, however, MLS doesn't NEED to expand further.