CNBC reported that football superstar Lionel Messi’s move to compete in the American Professional Football League (MLS) caused ticket sales to “explode”. Specifically, the price of end-of-season games in the US has increased by more than 1,700% on the secondary market compared to last year.

In July, Messi signed a “blockbuster” contract with Inter Miami club for between $50 million and $60 million a year, including a stake in the team, CNN reported. The male player has also signed revenue-sharing agreements with Apple TV and Adidas.

Messi’s arrival in the US created a strong wave of interest in both the team and the MLS – which is not considered one of the top leagues in the world in terms of quality.

However, Jorge Mas, owner of Inter Miami Club, said that thanks to the “Messi effect”, the number of “MLS Season Pass” subscriptions on Apple TV has doubled.

The Miami Herald also wrote, Inter Miami’s official Instagram account also skyrocketed from 1 million to 14 million followers. And yet, the demand for jerseys with Messi’s name and number on it has increased so much that the official MLS online store has had to postpone delivery until the end of October.

In particular, the most notable thing is that Inter Miami’s ticket prices have increased sharply for both home and away matches.

For home matches, the average listing ticket price on the secondary market has increased from $152 to $864 since Messi’s signing, representing a 468% increase since Aug. data provided by TicketIQ.

This effect is even more pronounced for away games, which include larger markets like New York and Los Angeles. It is known that for all the remaining away games in the season, the average ticket price has increased by 1,002% compared to last year, as of August 15.

Here are the average ticket prices for Inter Miami’s remaining games this season:

For the upcoming game between Inter Miami and the New York Red Bulls, the average ticket price is $1,674 while last year was only about $90. This is a difference of up to 1,760%. Similarly, the average ticket price for a match between Inter Miami and rival Orlando City SC is only $97 in 2022. But it has already hit $1,755 thanks to the “Messi effect” – reaching a difference of 1,709%.

Even the cheap seats go up in price. According to TicketIQ data, the cheapest ticket to the match against the New York Red Bulls has increased from about $36 to $578 in the presence of Messi. Similarly, the cheapest ticket to the Chicago Fire Club game was usually $23 last year but has since risen to $192 this year.

Lionel Messi or Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini was born on June 24, 1987, and is a famous Argentine football player. He was named as one of the best players in the world.

Messi holds the record of 7 times winning the Golden Ball and 6 times winning the European Golden Shoe.

Messi once shared that he chose to come to Miami partly because of his family. “The transition from Barca to PSG is relatively complicated, and from PSG to Miami is easier. I come here not only to play football but also to do everyday things with my family,” he said.