In return for those kinds of salaries, designated players are expected to attract fans and ticket sales. Messi is expected to earn US$54 million (S$73 million) a year, US$46 million more than the league’s next highest-paid player (Chicago Fire’s Xherdan Shaqiri). It also included the chance to buy an MLS team for a reduced fee - which ended up in his shared ownership of Inter Miami.īeckham was the league’s first “designated player” - a name for squad players (a maximum of three per side) who are signed up without being subject to league rules on salary caps. SPEND IT LIKE BECKHAMįor when Beckham joined LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007, his deal included a share of shirt and ticket sales, something no MLS side had ever done before. So Apple seems to think Messi is worthy of major investment.įor their part, MLS are likely to offer Messi shares in Inter Miami, which is part-owned by former Manchester United player David Beckham.Īnd it was arguably Beckham who paved the way for the kind of creative deal Messi looks set to enjoy. Just before Messi’s move was made public, Apple TV announced a four-part documentary series about the star, featuring behind-the-scenes coverage of the men’s 2022 Fifa World Cup, which Argentina won. The pass, which costs £14.99 (S$25.70) a month, or £99 a season in the United Kingdom, launched in February 2023, in a 10-year deal worth £1.9 billion to the league.Īnd Apple’s involvement doesn’t end there. Suggested details include Messi receiving a share of Inter Miami club merchandise from Adidas, and some of the revenue from Apple’s “Season Pass”, a streaming subscription which gives viewers access to every MLS game.
Messi has global appeal, and millions of fans will likely take a new interest in Major League Soccer (MLS) when one of the greatest players of all time is part of it.Īmong Messi’s newest supporters are two of the world’s biggest companies, Apple and Adidas, who are reportedly working in partnership with Inter Miami and MLS as part of the deal.
This could turn out to be a massive turning point for the sport in the United States. For the Argentinian, who has spent the last two seasons playing for Paris Saint-Germain, has decided not to accept offers to play in Saudi Arabia, and is joining Inter Miami in Florida instead. Now we are about to see what impact Messi will have on football in America. The scorer of 474 goals during his long career at Barcelona, he has been named the best footballer in the world a record seven times. Few would doubt Lionel Messi’s impact on European football.
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