Inter Miami started the new MLS season with confidence, beating Real Salt Lake (2-0) and drawing with the Los Angeles Galaxy (1-1). In the first match, the team’s main stars, Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi, each provided an assist, and in the second, Leo scored with a pass from Alba. Fans’ fears that the team would be severely depleted by the international pre-season tour proved unfounded. In 20 days from the beginning of February, Messi and his teammates flew 37,000 km and played six games in five different countries. This schedule is unprecedented for an MLS team, but it is a new reality for a franchise looking to capitalize on the Argentine legend in any way possible.
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The day before the start of the 2024 season, Inter Miami majority shareholder Jorge Mas stood on a specially equipped stage at the team’s temporary stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Before his speech, the investor, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $1.3 billion, asked those present to pay attention to the sign at the club’s stadium. As part of the cooperation with one of the world’s largest transnational financial conglomerates, JPMorgan Chase, the club’s stadium will now be called Chase Stadium. This association is part of the American club’s ambitious financial plan for the coming years.
“We are ready to reach a qualitatively new level of revenue,” said Inter Miami commercial director Xavier Asensi. “We have a good infrastructure and a great team led by the best player in the world to do this.” Asensi knows what he is talking about, having worked for 10 years to promote Barcelona in the Asian market before taking on this role in 2021. It was Asensi who, shortly after joining the American club, first expressed the idea of inviting Messi to the team.
Leo at the contract signing ceremony with new sponsor Inter Miami
Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images
The Herons are reaping commercial benefits after signing the Argentine. In addition to the deal with JPMorgan Chase, the club also introduced a new shirt sponsor, Royal Caribbean. The Florida cruise operator replaced cryptocurrency company XBTO, which was paying $5 million a year. The amount of the deal with the new sponsor was not disclosed, but Asensi called the agreement “a multi-year partnership with significant commercial potential.”
Royal Caribbean plans to actively attract Messi in cooperation with Inter. In particular, the Argentine became a symbol of the largest cruise ship in the world, with capacity for 7,600 passengers; In January, Leo participated in the naming and launching ceremony of the liner Icon of the Seas. The last time such a stir was caused only by the Titanic, a modern giant ship almost five times larger than its legendary predecessor. It is the size of three football fields, plus another 20 terraces high.
The club’s revenue is expected to increase even further once Miami Freedom Park is completed in 2025. This project includes a park, a hotel, office space, retail stores, sports fields, many restaurants and a beautiful new stadium for 25 thousand spectators. The cost of the project is one billion dollars.
Liberty Park, Miami. Project
Photo: intermiamicf.com
Matches in the United States, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan generated huge profits
In the preseason, Inter Miami further capitalized on Messi’s commercial appeal by embarking on a world tour that included friendlies in the United States, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan. The Florida club had requests to perform in countries around the world, but they put together a tour that they felt balanced the sporting side with the club’s promotional process.
In addition to the specific games, the tour also provided the opportunity to meet potential companies and partners. This increased the commercial value of travel beyond game fees. “It is a blast furnace in which several elements are fused,” says Asensi, who knows the Asian market very well. “The sports field should not lag behind brand awareness.”
Inter before the match against Newell’s Old Boys
Photo: Rich History/Getty Images
The tour turned out to be not entirely ideal, but instructive in many ways. Inter Miami won only one of the seven matches and, in addition, Messi’s highly publicized participation in the Hong Kong match became a huge scandal: the fans and organizers of the match found out about the Argentine’s injury 15 minutes before. of the start of the match. match. Leo, like another injured star player, Luis Suárez, sat on the bench throughout the game and listened to thousands of curses directed at him. But all hell broke loose two days later, when the American team went to play in Japan and Messi played there for half an hour.
Details of the history of Hong Kong.
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And yet, from a commercial point of view, the trip was a success. Asensi noted that Inter Miami’s revenue surpassed the preseason figures of some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Sportico estimates these teams’ preseason revenue from recent preseason tours of the United States to be around $20 million. “It is a surprising success for an MLS club,” rejoices the commercial director.
Messi’s arrival in MLS has opened up opportunities not seen in the league since David Beckham signed for the LA Galaxy in 2007. The Galaxy, like Inter Miami, have made numerous international tours to capitalize on Beckham’s global appeal, including trips to Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
At the time, the Galaxy, like Miami, was paid more than almost any other team in the world, according to former Galaxy president of business operations Tom Payne. While most MLS teams were losing money, the Galaxy were making $1 million per game on international tours.
David Beckham at Los Angeles Galaxy/Lionel Messi at Inter Miami
Photo: Getty Images
Inter Miami’s expected revenue in 2024 will exceed $200 million
The benefits of these trips are enormous and the one-time payment is far from the main thing here. “Today the Galaxy does not have a global superstar, but to this day, thanks to those tours with Beckham, the Galaxy brand remains the most recognizable and popular in MLS. Therefore, every day that Messi is at Inter is a crazy investment in the future,” Payne emphasizes.
Inter’s leaders valued all the benefits of traveling to the periphery of football with a megastar. The Adidas stores in Hong Kong had Inter Miami stands right at the entrance. Fans from Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and especially Japan attended friendly matches wearing the team’s pink colors. On match days, Google searches about the team and about Messi skyrocketed in their respective countries.
Next year Messi and his team will play in a new stadium
Photo: intermiamicf.com
A recent sports poll conducted on the SSRS reporting server software system showed the incredible: for the first time in the last 30 years, Americans chose a football player as their favorite athlete. Of course, he was Leo. Among the favorite football clubs in the same survey, Inter Maimi ranked fourth, after Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United.
Payne noted another important similarity between Beckham’s Galaxy and Messi’s Miami: the arrival of these players increased the popularity of MLS. This is confirmed by Lionel’s partnership with Apple, which owns the league’s broadcast rights for 10 years. And the international preseason tour was another example of how Inter increased the visibility and appeal of MLS in the global soccer market.
“The more exposure we can get outside of our region, the better from a business standpoint,” said Camilo Durana, Apple’s executive vice president of MLS partnerships, real estate and events. He also noted that Inter Miami’s coverage in general has a “cascading effect” on the rest of the league.
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While Inter Miami founder and co-owner Beckham has set a great precedent, the reality for his team is manifesting itself on a much larger scale. Sportico recently valued the club at $1.02 billion, up 74% from 2022. Asensi said Inter’s expected revenue in 2024 will exceed $200 million, almost double its 2023 revenue. This unprecedented growth is possible mainly thanks to Messi.
