The specifics of Lionel Messi’s contract with MLS’ Inter Miami are coming into focus as the two sides move closer to finalizing the deal.
The deal that will bring one of the world’s greatest footballers to the United States is worth up to $150 million in total between his salary, signing bonus and equity in the team, Sportico reported.
Money from deals with Apple, Adidas and Fanatics are still being worked out and would be in addition to the $150 million, and Messi is expected to take his ownership stake once his playing days are over.
Messi, 35, confirmed earlier this month that after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain was up he would go to Miami to play in MLS.
Messi is still expected to make his Inter Miami debut when the MLS club hosts Cruz Azul of Liga MX at DRV PNK Stadium on July 21.
That match is part of the CONCACAF-sanctioned Leagues Cup Tournament, which pits teams from MLS and Mexico’s top soccer division against one another.
The first MLS regular season game Messi could play in would be Aug. 20 when the league returns from its month-long break.
Messi, who helped lead Argentina to a World Cup title last year, is expected to make a massive impact on the game of soccer in the United States with his arrival.
Inter Miami has already seen massive growth in social media footprint since the news came out and ticket prices on the secondary market have skyrocketed for games that feature the famous footballer.
Season ticket demand for Inter Miami has also drastically increased 10 times what the team could fulfill, according to Sportico.
Soccer analyst Taylor Twellman also expressed optimism that Messi’s arrival would spur ESPN to get back into covering MLS.
The Worldwide Leader does not have the rights to broadcast MLS games, but Twellman, who was one of the top soccer voices at ESPN for 13 years, believed that it would be hard to ignore now.
“The 6 o’clock ‘SportsCenter,’ they will 1000 percent talk about Messi when it is a part of the vernacular of the sports world,” Twellman said on the Sports Media with Richard Deistch podcast. “Scott Van Pelt with Stanford Steve, they will 1,000 percent do it. I think the nightly ‘SportsCenter(s)’ will show it and do it to the best of their ability. Will they do it any differently than I was there? Honestly, Richard, I don’t know.
“They may not have someone to talk about it for 90 seconds to two minutes or whatever, but it’s still going be part of the show.”