- Lionel Messi finalized a deal to join Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami on Saturday.
- He'll be paid around $150 million over the next two-and-a-half years.
- Signing the Argentine star is a major coup for both Inter Miami and MLS.
Just over five weeks after he first said he'd be taking his talents to Fort Lauderdale, Lionel Messi is officially an Inter Miami player.
The MLS franchise finalized a deal with the Argentine star Saturday, before officially unveiling him to fans in a glitzy ceremony held at the DRV PNK Stadium the following day.
To much of the sporting world, Messi and Inter Miami might seem an odd pairing.
Messi is considered by many to be soccer's GOAT — and just six months ago showed that he's still one of the sport's best players, scoring twice in the final of the World Cup to help Argentina win the tournament for the first time in nearly four decades.
Meanwhile, most fans in Europe and South America see MLS as a backwater of "soccer" – and Inter Miami, one of the league's newest clubs, is bottom of the Eastern Conference right now.
For Messi, joining MLS likely appeals for two reasons. He gets to hang out in Miami, and will be paid massive amounts of cash for that privilege.
When his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, Messi turned down an eye-watering offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal and said he'd instead choose to play in Miami, where he can enjoy himself, "[his] family, [his] children, [and] the day-to-day".
Still, Inter Miami will pay him around $150 million over the next two-and-a-half years, according to Sportico, including a regular salary, signing bonus, and equity in the team.
Last month, The Athletic reported that Messi has also agreed to revenue-sharing agreements with Apple TV, which streams MLS games, and Adidas, which is one of the league's largest corporate sponsors.
And from a corporate perspective, the Messi deal also makes perfect sense for both Inter Miami and MLS.
Since Messi signed, the number of accounts that follow Inter Miami on Instagram has soared from 900,000 to just under 10 million – more than the Dallas Cowboys and New York Knicks combined.
The team is also charging a minimum of $350 a ticket for Messi's supposed debut later this week – and will build a new $1 billion stadium in Miami's Freedom Park to house the star.
Sheffield Business School football finance expert Rob Wilson told the investment platform Saxo that Messi joining an MLS team could deliver a boost for the league on par with when David Beckham signed for LA Galaxy in 2007.
In a defining moment for soccer in the US, Beckham agreed to leave Real Madrid to play in MLS – and since then, there's been a huge surge in both attendance and viewership.
"Messi's impact is all about profile – that individual personality, at the pinnacle of his playing career, was a massive coup for the MLS," Wilson said. "Sponsors and partners want to be associated and that's what he brings."
"We will see sold-out stadiums, we will see waiting lists for season tickets," he added. "Everything that needs to be in place to leverage Messi is there or under construction."
Some have found the intense focus on this deal to be an exasperating reminder of how commercialized soccer has become in the 21st century. ("This used to be a sport," The Guardian's Jonathan Wilson notes in a brilliant column on that topic.)
But off the pitch, Messi joining Inter Miami really does just make perfect sense for everyone involved.