Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi, whose extraordinary charisma has spawned considerable commercial value. According to Forbes Financial Magazine, the market capitalization of Internacional Mayami Football Club has surged by 72% in the past year, surpassing the US$1.03 billion (HK$8.1 billion) mark, partly due to the significant increase in the club's revenue after Messi joined the club in June last year, coupled with a steady rise in market capitalization as earnings are expected to be higher in the new season.
Messi played for InterMiami for just one month before helping the team win the North American League Cup. By then, tickets for every game were hard to come by, and with the 36-year-old striker's jersey selling like hotcakes, InterMiami's 2023 revenues soared to US$118 million (HK$920 million), a year-on-year increase of double that of the previous year.
The "Messi Cyclone" is still in full swing, as tickets for the 2024 USL season sold out as soon as they went on sale at the end of November last year. In addition, the team's recent global pre-season warm-up tournament is expected to generate a significant amount of revenue.
