According to the club’s marketing director, Lionel Messi’s presence will have an unprecedented influence on Inter Miami, increasing revenue by a factor of four.

New endorsement agreements with Adidas and Apple are part of Messi’s $60 million annual salary offer with Inter Miami. He arrived in July and has been on fire since then.

The Argentine has 11 goals in just nine games throughout three different competitions. He helped Miami to its first trophy with the Leagues Cup run. He played a major role in the US Open Cup semifinals. Then, in his MLS debut as a substitute, he scored again. Messi is unquestionably the club’s best asset. However, the benefits of the Herons’ move to acquire the World Cup champion go well beyond the playing field.

Xavier Asensi expects Inter Miami revenue boost thanks to Messi

After 11 years with Barcelona, Xavier Asensi, commercial director for Inter Miami, moved there in 2021 and said that the club’s revenue has increased significantly thanks to Messi’s presence (to the tune of over $200 million).

“This must be clarified: Leo’s arrival is, above all, in order to win on the field”, Asensi said in an interview with Marca. 

“Obviously, Leo is the player that sells the most commercially in the world. Modric, Ramos, Griezmann, or Busquets give you a little boost, but Leo is another dimension on a commercial level, he is out of this world. To get an idea, in 2024 we will multiply Inter’s income before Leo by four. There is a before and after Messi for Miami and for the entire MLS.”

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Miami laid ground for Messi’s arrival in 2020

According to Joe Pompliano, Inter Miami made $56 million in 2022; if Asensi’s forecast is accurate, the club may reap a gigantic profit of $224 million in 2024. Asensi said that Mas had a significant role in Inter Miami’s coup of Messi by devising a plan to acquire the Argentinean starting in 2020.

“When I arrived in Miami, I saw that ​​Jorge Mas’ idea was to be the reference for soccer in North America. And, although football is business, above all it is about the players. If what happens inside is good, then business is bigger.

“For this reason, there was no better business than Leo Messi, who is the number one of all time. And I told Mas if he was the man for the job. This was almost my first conversation with Jorge at the end of 2020.

“When they threw him out of Barca, the door opened. If they hadn’t thrown him out, he would still be there for sure. But the option was opened, and that’s where the rest of us entered. Then he went to Paris and there was nothing we could do until June 2023. It is true that everyone was looking at Saudi Arabia, but we continued working on our own, planning his arrival. I’ll give you a fact: if you look closely, no one played with the number 5 or the number 10 in Miami…”

PHOTO: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire