In the American sports landscape, soccer has been junior to titans like baseball or basketball. Despite its stature as the younger sibling in U.S. sports, it has seen a boom in growth in recent years. 2024 data indicates that there was a significant increase in new fans for the sport, with a 400% jump in first-time fans from 2023 to 2024. 

Lionel Messi’s arrival to Major League Soccer has been a factor in this recent growth. Messi stands as arguably the sport’s greatest-ever player, with both individual and club accolades proving such. Messi’s arrival at Florida-based club Inter Miami CF has attracted many fans to U.S. soccer, bringing a surge in television viewership for MLS, as well as an 18% increase in the league’s revenue. Despite the tremendously positive economic effects for the league, I am concerned that the way clubs are handling his presence may be having a detrimental effect on MLS. 

There is now a growing sentiment that many fans are only tuning in to Inter Miami games to watch Messi play. Undoubtedly, his talent and star power are undeniable. MLS knows this and has been turning his stardust into profit. The average price of a game in the 2023-2024 season was $164, a 124% price increase from the 2022-2023 season’s $73 per seat cost. 

This sentiment was most clearly seen when the Houston Dynamo FC, a Houston-based club, issued an apology to its fans for Messi not being present in a match. Fans were incensed because they had paid abnormally high ticket prices but did not see Messi. The club sought to appease its supporters by promising free tickets to a future home game due to the star’s absence. This sort of bargaining should not exist. 

Messi’s status in American soccer is that of a god, and fans have had to pay the price for that. He has brought viewership and increased interest, but for the MLS to properly capitalize, they must stop deifying the Argentine star and allowing the rest of the league to seem an afterthought.