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You’ll have to open your wallet to watch Messi play in person

trent wood
·4 min read
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PSG’s Lionel Messi reacts during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Clermont at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

Five times, 10 times, 20 times. Rise, surge, skyrocket.

In the 24 hours since news broke that soccer great Lionel Messi will leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer and join Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami in early July, headlines have been filled with descriptors such as those above, all referring to ticket prices.

Messi’s anticipated arrival in the United States has led to soaring ticket prices across the MLS landscape — for those teams fortunate to be scheduled to play Inter Miami this season — and it didn’t take long.

The U.S. Sun reported that less than 12 hours after Messi’s announcement, the cheapest tickets for Inter Miami’s contest against Charlotte — Messi’s expected debut against an MLS side — rose from an average of $29 to $477, and still climbing.

According to Sportskeeda, regular ticket prices for the Sept. 4 clash between Inter Miami and LAFC were $81 some 48 hours ago. Post Messi news, they are $422 and climbing.

The Daily Mail reported that ticket prices for Inter Miami’s August meeting with the New York Red Bulls have soared above $400, from $25.

Per TickPick, tickets for Inter Miami’s game against Mexican side Cruz Azul — expected to be Messi’s debut — were $29 Wednesday morning. Less than two hours after the Messi news broke, those same tickets were above $300 and now stand above $450.

Soccer’s worldwide popularity and, more importantly, Messi’s influence has been illustrated with tickets to Messi’s home debut in Miami now costing more than tickets for the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets.

People are buying the tickets, too. This isn’t a case of rising costs without real demand.

Per The Athletic, Atlanta United, which hosts Inter Miami in September and plays its home games at Mercedes Benz Stadium, is expecting the stadium to be at full capacity, some 70,000 seats.

Typically, write Elias Burke and Paul Tenorio, Atlanta averages 50,000 fans. Also, ticket prices for that game are currently on sale at a minimum of $350, even with the upper bowl being opened.

Additionally, as reported by The Athletic, the Chicago Fire host Inter Miami in October, and prior to the Messi news the the Fire had sold just under 10,000 tickets for the game. Come Wednesday afternoon, the team had sold 7,000 more tickets, with the lowest prices at $200; the most expensive reaching heights of $10,000 at Soldier Field.

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Messi isn’t the first soccer star to leave European soccer behind and come to MLS with great fanfare in recent years — think David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović to name a few — but his impact promises to be greater than the rest.

“The short-term furor will transcend generations and football-specific interest,” Tenorio writes. “Watching Messi in Miami is as fresh and new as it gets for a league without a global superstar capable of all-star production since Zlatan Ibrahimovic departed in 2019.

“That Messi is coming off of a World Cup win less than a year ago that drew more than 25 million viewers across English- and Spanish-language coverage has only added to that celebrity. It was a part of the equation in a deal to bring him to the U.S., and why corporate partners like Apple and Adidas have been involved in negotiations.

“Three years before the United States hosts the World Cup, Messi’s impact on the sport has the potential to be a lasting one,” Tenorio continues. “That change must occur in more than just ticket booths, but for now his popularity and the immediate impact on revenue shines a light on how one player can bring a bright, bright spotlight.”

Locally, Real Salt Lake has not and will probably not play Inter Miami the remainder of this season, barring a run to the MLS championship game by both teams. Currently Inter Miami is the worst team in the Eastern Conference, though, and RSL is a fringe playoff team in the West.

There is chance Real Salt Lake and Inter Miami could meet in the championship of the U.S. Open Cup, with Salt Lake City having hosting priority.

Real Salt Lake defeated the LA Galaxy 3-2 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the competition, setting up a meeting with the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 23 with a spot in the championship on the line.

Whenever Messi makes a visit to Salt Lake City, this year, in 2024 or even later, it is best to expect that tickets won’t come cheap.