In case you missed the big news, Argentina national and former Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami on July 17, a team that’s currently ranked last in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Eastern Conference, according to CBS Sports. With that has come a media and fan frenzy not only for Messi but his coveted No. 10 jersey.

What Messi in Miami Means

“All-time soccer great Lionel Messi’s arrival is expected to double the club’s revenues over the next 12 months,” according to a statement from Inter Miami’s Managing Owner Jorge Mas. He went on to tell CNBC’s “Halftime Report” that his team’s valuation could hit $1.3-$1.5 billion over the next year.

“When we got into the project of Inter Miami, we really did it wanting to be the premier platform for football in the United States,” Mas tells CNBC. And that meant bringing Messi into the fold — a process that started back in 2019, according to CNBC. Mas tells the news outlet he’s seeing a “Messi effect” happen. Everyone’s talking about it, and Messi’s jerseys have sold out, keeping adidas busy printing around the clock, Mas adds.

According to Fanatics, Messi could set a record for the most jerseys sold within 24 hours of a player joining a sports team. For fans that can find a way to get their hands on any merch, Fanatics has various items available, including home and away jerseys, shirts, and hoodies.

“Messi sales are on pace with the current first-day jersey sales record set by Cristiano Ronaldo immediately following his move to Manchester United in 2021,” CNBC reports.

It wouldn’t be the first time the superstar’s jersey saw record sales. Messi played a key role in Argentina’s World Cup win this year. After the victory, his jersey quickly sold old, with some resellers trying to score as much as $500 for the blue and white shirt.

Messi Fanatics jerseys

Credit: Fanatics

Sports Endorsements and Merch

In addition to his partnership with adidas, Messi has brand deals with Budweiser, Mastercard, Pepsi, Saudi Arabia tourism, and Socios, according to Sportico.

According to SponsorUnited, endorsements and media partnerships grew by 20% year-over-year for athletes in 2022. There was also a 102% increase in brands buying sponsorships or media deals across NIL (name, image, and likeness). With those brand deals come tons of merchandise — a huge moneymaker for the sponsoring company and the athlete.

With fandom communities alive and well, in and out of sports, the global merch market is growing. Reportlinker.com projects that the licensed merchandise market will reach $489.8 billion by 2030. And with athletes like Messi who have 479 million followers on Instagram, that’s a lot of potential buyers.

Messi will make his U.S. debut on Friday, July 21 against Cruz Azul, and Mas says he hopes all the buzz around Messi will help grow MLS.

“I think that it’s incumbent upon myself and my partners in Major League Soccer and fellow owners to seize the moment that we have ahead of us to hopefully elevate Major League Soccer over the course of the next three to five years to compete with the Premier League,” Mas tells CNBC.