King Midas of Miami: all the “round deals” of the Messi revolution

Everything Midas touched turned to gold.. But virtue was ultimately a curse for the king of Phrygia, an ancient region of Asia Minor in present-day Turkey. Legends state that Midas, far from being the richest in the world, died of hunger. Of course gold gives food, but it cannot be kneaded or swallowed. A shame. More than 25 centuries have passed and King Midas incarnated in Lionel Messi. But for the Argentine it is not a sentence. The gift of turning everything he touches into gold causes profits to multiply wherever he looks. And not only for him, who deserves them very well because there is no one else like him on the pitch, but for all those who connect with him who, in the last stretch of his career, has definitively become the best salesman in world football .

It is true that Messi’s contract with Inter Miami is lower than the one signed with Paris Saint Germain. From the club of the Qatari capital, which ended up discrediting him after his consecration at the 2022 World Cup, He received an annual salary of $30 million clean. Here, in the United States, it is “barely” surpassed. 20M. But, replicating the successful model that made millionaires Michael Jordan and Phil Knight, owner of Nike, The link includes a royalty to attract subscribers to MLS League Pass for Apple TV and a direct benefit to Adidas’ profits from the sale of its T-shirts. They are, of course, much more than 20 million. And, the best thing for him, the plus is in his left foot and in his talent without an expiration date.

The percentages agreed by Messi are not known and the technology and sportswear giants are very reluctant to provide numbers. But there may be indications that the company is beneficial for everyone.

Subscriptions to watch the MLS on Apple TV – you pay between 13 and 15 dollars a month – has grown exponentially since the captain of the Staircase appears as his standard bearer. “I won’t give figures, but I can tell you that season tickets have grown significantly since Messi’s arrival. Before, season ticket holders were very American. Now a significant number of season ticket holders from Latin America and Europe have been added. It’s been a great thing. . change for us”account Eddy Cuevice president of Apple Services, in conversation Clarion. Unofficially we talk about it 110 thousand accounts were opened to watch Rosario’s debut in the League Cup against Cruz Azul. And that was only his first function.

So great is the impact that in Season Pass Not only do they stream games anymore, but there is also an omnibus program called “This is the MLS” which covers all meetings simultaneously, replicating the successful model of “NFL Red Zone” of American football. Interest in the championship is growing almost as much as the championship itself is growing.

Adidas is also doing great business with Messi. It is very difficult to obtain an official national team t-shirt with three stars because the demand is not sufficient. Everyone loves her. Few have it. And more than 14 months have passed since the consecration in Lusail. Much easier is to get one from Inter Miami. But you have to have money to get it. At the official Chase Stadium store, vendors haven’t stopped stocking it. The official jacket, the one worn by the players, It costs 199 dollars. The fan version is fine, the same design, but with different technology US$149. Unattainable for more than half of Argentines.

Everyone wins and we still need to talk about one key player: Inter Miami, worth every penny of their investment to have unusual profits if we take into account that five years ago it was a newborn football club.

15 Messi matches have arrived – 14 last year and Wednesday’s against Real Salt Lake – so much so that its valuation grew by 72%.. It went from 600 million dollars in 2023 to 1,030 million in 2024. To measure these numbers, a comparison with the Premier League is worth making. The traditional teams of the best league in the world, such as Aston Villa, Everton or even Newcastle – now owned by an Arab consortium – are worth less than the franchise managed by the brothers Jorge and José Más Canosa and The Englishman David Beckham.

The arrival of Messi, the King Midas of football, in Miami materializes in the arrival of increasingly strong sponsors for Inter. The sponsor of the shirt, until last year, was XBTO, a cryptocurrency finance company. He now owns the Royal Caribbean cruise holding company. Two powers greet each other, Gatica would say. “This partnership makes perfect sense for all of us: two local brands with a global audience and big ambitions”summarized the commercial director of Inter Miami, Xavier Asensi, who arrived at the franchise after a long trip to Barcelona.

One day before the debut of the 2024 MLS campaign, The club has changed the name of its stadium. It stopped being DRV PNK, the cancer prevention slogan of AutoNation, the largest dealership group in the world, to become Chase after the deal with JP Morgan, the largest bank in the United States and one of the largest financial companies of the world. world.

The numbers are astonishing. The tour of El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan reminded us of the times when Pelé’s Santos toured the world. It was an effort from a sporting point of view Gerardo Martino and his staff. But the over 37 thousand kilometers traveled in three weeks also had an enormous impact on the franchise’s coffers. “It was a balance between advertising and football”celebrated the Tata, which arrived without notable casualties after circling the world in 21 days.

Between one and another, specialists estimate this year’s profits for Inter Miami that would be $200 million. Shocking. And it is even more so if you do this simple calculation: Messi, even if he is Midas, costs him just 10%.