SSome of Messi’s critics argued that the Argentine star would come to MLS, play a few seasons and retire comfortably. And while it’s true that it’s a league at a lower level than his native French league, and certainly La Liga, Messi came to compete, win titles, and put Inter Miami on the map of international football, and incidentally broke some records.
Messi’s influence in MLS
What seemed like a simple media deal turned into one of the most influential moves in American sports history, and the numbers back it up. Herons’ follower count grew from about 1 million to more than 14 million in a matter of weeks.
This phenomenon was not limited to social networks. On the day of his debut, the match between Inter Miami and Cruz Azul on July 21, 2023, the number of new subscribers to the MLS Season Pass exceeded 110,000, demonstrating the huge interest generated in watching the Argentine star in the US league.
A record he shares with Michael Jordan
Success came a few years later. After winning the 2025 MLS Cup, Inter Miami celebrated their victory with an official visit to the White House, a common and controversial tradition for winning teams in American professional leagues.
It was at that moment that Messi joined a select group of athletes who visited the White House after becoming champions. That list also includes people like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Serena Williams and LeBron James.
But the Chicago Bulls icon has visited the presidential palace five times, so it’s worth making the distinction. Four of them visited after winning the NBA Championship and also in 2016, where they were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of America’s highest civilian honors, by then-President Barack Obama.
In Messi’s case, his first visit came after winning the MLS with Inter Miami, cementing his influence not only on the soccer world but on the country’s sporting culture.
