Messi makes American sports history

In the United States, soccer is not the number one sport. Therefore, soccer stars rarely become the most popular athletes here. Especially when American soccer is not that strong and Major League Soccer (MLS) is not very competitive. But all that changed when Messi came to America.

In less than a year of playing for Inter Miami in the US, Messi has become the most popular athlete. He made history as the first soccer player to become the most popular athlete in the US. This statistic has just been compiled and announced by SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).

For the past ten years, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have consistently ranked as the two most popular soccer players in America.

But over the past year, Messi has outpaced Ronaldo in terms of popularity among American fans. According to SSRS, Messi's fan base in the United States has quadrupled since 2022.

With Messi's popularity, Inter Miami is also very popular in the US. Specifically, Inter Miami has surpassed LA Galaxy to become the most popular MLS club in the US. Inter Miami's fan base has increased more than 5 times in 2023.

Specifically, Inter Miami is the 4th most popular professional football club in the US, behind 3 European clubs: Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Manchester United.