Messi creates the biggest football ticket fever in American history

This fever is making the whole of Los Angeles explode because of Messi. The capacity of BMO Stadium, where the match is taking place, is only 22,000 people, but there are hundreds of thousands of people wanting to go to the stadium to watch the Argentine superstar play live.

Messi has now played a total of 10 matches for Inter Miami, scoring 11 goals and providing 6 assists. His impressive achievements along with his name have created an unprecedented ticket fever in the US.

Part of the appeal of this match is Messi and it is amplified by the “hotness” of Los Angeles FC. This club has great influence in the East.

That attraction has led to a huge increase in demand for tickets. The average price for a live ticket to this match is currently being sold for no less than $690, nearly seven times higher than the average price of $110/ticket in MLS, before Messi arrived. Messi is creating the biggest football match in American history. But even if you have money, you still cannot buy a ticket because there are too many people who want to see the Argentine superstar play.

Currently, Los Angeles FC is ranked 2nd in the Eastern region and has relatively impressive form at home with 4 wins and only 1 loss in the last 5 matches.

Meanwhile, Inter Miami will face Los Angel FC in round 26 of Major League Soccer with a must-win mission to escape the bottom of the Eastern Conference and move closer to a Play-offs spot.

If Inter Miami finishes in this position, they will play a wild card round with the teams in the same position in the Western region. If they continue to win, they will officially be present in the playoff round to compete for the championship called MLS Cup.

In total, there will be 16 teams in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs, including 14 teams that will enter directly, which are the teams ranked in the top 7 in the Eastern and Western regions, and 2 teams that pass the wild card round.

In their latest match, they only drew 0-0 with Nashville, the first time the pink team failed to score since Messi arrived. It was also the first time the Argentine striker played at Inter Miami's DRV PNK home stadium in MLS. With this draw, Inter Miami ended a 10-game winning streak since Messi arrived.

With 22 points, Inter Miami has let bottom-placed Toronto catch up, but is still ahead thanks to goal difference (-12 and -16). Messi and his teammates are 7 points behind 13th-placed New York City, but this team has played 2 fewer games than their opponents.

Ticket prices for the match between Inter Miami and Los Angeles FC are the most expensive ever for a Major League Soccer match. The average ticket price for this match is about $690, a 527% increase over the average ticket price for a previous MLS match.

According to calculations, Inter Miami needs to win about 21 more points in the remaining 11 matches (maximum 33 points), to have at least 42 points. With this score, they can win a wild card round spot. Last season, Charlotte Club ranked 9th with 42 points, and Inter Miami must reach at least this number of points to have a chance to continue.

However, Inter Miami's remaining fixtures pose a huge challenge for Messi and his teammates. After the match against Los Angeles FC, Inter Miami will face three of the four teams currently at the top of the Eastern Conference table: Atlanta United, Orlando City and FC Cincinnati.

First, Messi and Inter Miami need a good result in Los Angeles. Despite winning the Leagues Cup - the first trophy in the club's history - they are currently 10 points off the MLS Play-offs spot.

Inter Miami in particular, and MLS in general, are benefiting from this unprecedented fever. According to statistics, in just 9 matches with Messi, Inter Miami earned 256 million USD in ticket sales alone.

Inter Miami's home jersey has become the best-selling MLS club kit in the US right now.

Messi joins Inter Miami, the team's revenue is expected to increase by 257% within 1 year. The team's revenue in 2022 is 56 million USD (the highest-earning club in MLS is Atlanta United, 103 million USD). With Messi, David Beckham's team is expected to earn 200 million USD. That will make Miami the club that earns the most money in an MLS season. In the world, only 33 clubs have a revenue of 200 million USD or more in the 2022 season, of which only one is an American team, Flamengo (Brazil).

After the match against Los Angeles FC, Messi will temporarily say goodbye to Inter Miami to focus on the Argentina team to prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. This striker can only return in the match between Inter Miami and Toronto at home on September 21.