How Messi Changed American Soccer Forever

There's a mural in Miami that tells this story better than any statistic. It's on the facade of Fiorito, an Argentine restaurant near Little Haiti, and it has featured Lionel Messi's face since 2018, five years before Messi himself set foot in the United States as an MLS player. Back then, not even all the Argentines in the area were applauding.

Miami, along with New York, is home to the largest Argentine expatriate community in the country: more than 50,000 people. When the owners of Fiorito commissioned the mural, many customers didn't take it well. Messi didn't yet have the World Cup or the Copa America to his name, and some would have preferred a different face on the wall.

People told us we should put up a mural of Diego instead.Natalia Sotes

Everything changed when Messi arrived as Inter Miami's marquee signing in the summer of 2023, by then already crowned world and continental champion with Argentina. Overnight, that mural became a pilgrimage site, and not just for Argentines in South Florida.

"We started getting more Americans coming by. A whole different crowd we didn't have before," Sotes said.

From the NASL to the MLS Boom

To understand the scale of what Messi triggered, you have to look back. In 1994, when the United States hosted its first World Cup, NFL stadiums filled up to watch Germany, Italy, Mexico and champion Brazil. But the country didn't even have its own league: FIFA required one be created to replace the defunct NASL, the league that once had Pele, Cruyff and Beckenbauer. That's how MLS was born.

That World Cup also left a wound for Argentina: Diego Maradona's expulsion after a positive doping test, following a 2-1 win over Nigeria. "They cut my legs off," he said at the time. He never set foot on American soil again until his death in 2020.

That scar, in some way, began to heal with Messi's arrival. The numbers back it up: MLS viewership grew 37% after he arrived, the biggest jump ever recorded in the league's history.

Resale Prices and a Jersey Selling Around the World

Demand skyrocketed to levels never seen in more than 30 years of the league. For a match against New York City FC in 2024, the most expensive ticket was listed at $9,395, not counting the resale market. And in 2025, 1.28 million jerseys bearing his name were sold, trailing only Lamine Yamal.

Perhaps the statistic that best sums up the phenomenon is this one: at the end of 2023, Messi displaced LeBron James and Tom Brady as the most popular athlete in a survey that has been conducted for 30 years. It was the first time a soccer player topped that list in a country that lives and breathes the NFL and NBA.

None of this happened by accident. Nelson Rodriguez, MLS executive vice president, explained it this way:

This wasn't a signing, it was a relationship, and it took time to cultivate, and the Mas family, like Beckham, deserve all the credit. They had the vision and the persistence to make it happen.Nelson Rodriguez

David Beckham, who joined the LA Galaxy in 2007, was the bridge. MLS used the same formula with Messi that it used with the Englishman: in addition to his player contract, Messi will have the option to become a part owner of a franchise once he retires, just as Beckham did in 2013 when he invested $25 million to found Inter Miami itself in 2020, alongside Jorge and Jose Mas.

A League Different From Pele's and Beckenbauer's

For decades, soccer in the United States was a passing fancy. Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff and other stars ended their careers there and then went home, leaving behind little more than an anecdote. With Messi, MLS is betting the story will be different.

League commissioner Don Garber sums it up this way:

Leo has fashion brands, he's launched a program for youth players. He's very smart and he's a global icon. And by the way, he has a great partner in Beckham, who set the example for how to manage your career after retirement.Don Garber

The legacy also already has a natural continuation: Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, his three sons, play in Inter Miami's youth academy, and it's not unusual for other parents to run into Messi at their kids' practices. In 2023, when he won his eighth Ballon d'Or, he showed up in front of those same youth teams to pose with the trophy alongside them. Today, every kid in the academy wears his personal brand, a sub-brand of Adidas.

"Having Leo has allowed this sport to grow in the United States. We're proud and honored to have him here. At some point, he'll retire. But who knows? Maybe his kids will be playing on MLS teams in the United States and Canada," Garber added.

The final data point might be the most revealing of all. In January 2026, an Economist survey asked Americans about their favorite sport. Soccer climbed onto the podium, trailing only football and basketball, and surpassing baseball, the pastime long considered the national sport above all others.

In Miami, meanwhile, the Fiorito facade keeps drawing tourists and curious onlookers. Over the years, the owners also added a Maradona mural, though they put it inside, in the patio. Asked which of the two draws more photos, Sotes didn't hesitate: "Leo's. No question, Leo's."