Tag: Jorge Mas

Inter Miami owner: Messi arrival has doubled MLS subscribers on Apple TV

Messi seems to be having the desired affect, both on and off the field

Lionel Messi appears to be having the desired impact for MLS, both on and off the pitch.

Messi has only played four games with Inter Miami since his arrival last month, but has already scored seven goals as the Florida side has reached the Leagues Cup quarterfinal.

Off the field, Messi looks to be having a similarly profound impact for the league’s bottom line.

Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, claiming that subscribers to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV have more than doubled just since Messi joined Inter Miami.

With Season Pass launching in February and Messi only joining in July, that would represent a significant jump.

Additionally, Mas said that more than half of the viewers for Messi’s matches have watched in Spanish.

The league has not publicized many details of its Apple deal this season, choosing to not release subscriber figures or details on viewers for individual matches.

Last month, Sports Business Journal reported that MLS Season Pass is “approaching 1 million subscribers, a number that includes season-ticket holders who are provided access as part of their purchase.”

At Apple’s quarterly earnings call this month, CEO Tim Cook said: “We are excited about our MLS partnership, and we’re thrilled to see Messi suiting up with Inter Miami.

“It’s clearly in the early days, but we are beating our expectations in terms of subscribers, and the fact that Messi went to Inter Miami helped us out there a bit – and so we’re very excited about it.”

The comments by Cook and Mas are the closest Apple or MLS has come to actually sharing subscriber details for Season Pass, which, starting this year, has the exclusive worldwide streaming rights for every MLS and Leagues Cup match.

MLS and Apple announced a landmark media rights agreement last summer in a deal worth $2.5 billion over 10 years.

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Inter Miami owner says Messi will make $50-60 million per year

The Argentine superstar will be the highest-paid player in MLS by a longshot

Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas has said Lionel Messi will make “between $50-60 million per year” when his contract with the MLS club is finalized.

Messi announced his intention to join Inter Miami in a milestone deal last month, though the club has not officially confirmed the Argentine’s signing.

Only final details remain before Messi officially joins Inter Miami, with Mas saying two weeks ago that Messi would likely debut in a July 21 Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul.

Messi’s contract would make him by far the highest-paid player in MLS, with Xherdan Shaqiri of the Chicago Fire currently topping the list with an annual guaranteed compensation of $8.2 million.

Messi will, of course, make even more than $50-60 million per year, as he will also be given a cut of profits from the league’s media rights deal with Apple and its apparel deal with Adidas.

“In terms of closing, the contract with Apple was very important,” Mas said in an interview with El Pais.

“(The negotiations lasted) three years,” Mas added. “One-and-a-half years negotiating intensely. Lots of conversations with Jorge (Messi, Lionel’s dad). I viewed it as done at the end of May. David (Beckham, Inter Miami co-owner) talked to Leo, only over footballing topics, because he was still playing at PSG. He didn’t want him to feel any pressure.”

Mas also addressed other players linked to Inter Miami — all of whom played alongside Messi at Barcelona for several years.

Sergio Busquets has also been confirmed to be joining the MLS club, though his signing has not been made official yet either.

“For us it was essential to surround Messi with players at his level,” Mas said. “We’ve been talking to Busquets for more or less a year. He’ll be very important in the locker room, even more so for the academy players.

“Two or three more players are coming. We have talked to Jordi Alba. (Luis Suárez) is under contract — he has a (release) clause, and I don’t know if he’d leave. We’ve also conversed with (Ángel) Di María, but it looks like he’s on the verge of signing elsewhere. All of the announcements will be made before July 15.”

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Messi to make Inter Miami debut July 21 vs. Cruz Azul, says owner

A Leagues Cup clash against the Liga MX side looks like it’ll be the big occasion

Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas has said the club is targeting a July 21 game against Cruz Azul for Lionel Messi’s debut.

Messi announced his intention to join Inter Miami two weeks ago, with the deal set to be finalized imminently.

If all goes according to plan, the ex-Barcelona and PSG star will debut at Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium, taking on the Mexican power in the newly expanded Leagues Cup that features every MLS and Liga MX team.

The get-in price for the Inter Miami-Cruz Azul clash is currently more than $1100 on TicketSmarter.

In an interview with a small group of media outlets, including the Miami Herald, Mas added that no MLS rules had been changed for the club to add the Argentina superstar.

“[There were] absolutely no changes in the roster rules,” Mas said. “There are no categories or anything that is being changed to incorporate Lionel Messi onto Inter Miami’s roster.”

The Miami Herald reported that Messi would sign a two-and-a-half-year deal worth $50 million to $60 million per year with an option for 2026. The deal will also include equity in the club after Messi’s retirement.

After a years-long pursuit of the World Cup winner, Mas said he expected the signing to be a seminal moment for MLS.

“I think there will always be a before and after Messi when we talk about the sport in the United States,” Mas said. “I have a very, very strong-held belief that we can create in North America and the United States if not the greatest league, one of the top two leagues in the world. I cannot over emphasize the magnitude of this announcement.”

Mas also said that he expected every game Messi plays in to be sold out, adding that the club is looking to add around 3,000 seats to DRV PNK Stadium, which would put capacity around 22,000.

“We are gearing up to do that work in the next four weeks,” Mas said of the stadium increase. “Every game will be sold out. The demand for tickets has been 10 times what we can handle on a season ticket basis.”

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