Lionel Messi's MLS move helps Inter Miami gain over 3 million Instagram followers overnight: Report

Lionel Messi is headed for America's Major League Soccer (MLS), burying all speculations. The 35-year-old World Cup winner — and arguably the greatest footballer of all time — has confirmed his decision to join Inter Miami.

While time will tell whether Inter Miami's association with Messi will help the club in scaling new heights on the field, the Argentine’s signing has certainly helped boost the MLS club’s presence on social media.

According to USA Today, Inter Miami’s followers have shot up from roughly 1 million to 4.5 million after luring Messi from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

With 1.4 million followers, LA Galaxy were the most-followed club in MLS before Messi decided to move to the US.

Miami’s gain, PSG’s loss

Lionel French league winners PSG reportedly lost around a million Instagram followers soon after Messi’s exit became evident. A report published by Goal.com claimed that PSG saw their follower count drop by at least 800,000 over the last weekend.

Things started to change even before Messi confirmed his move to Miami, which was on the hunt for Messi alongside La Liga giants Barcelona and Saudi Arabia Al Hilal.

USA Today shared data from online marketplace TickPick to reveal that Inter Miami’s ticket prices soared since the news of Messi’s move to MSL. TickPick disclosed that the cheapest ticket was sold for $29 ahead of Wednesday evening. Things changed rapidly in the last 24 hours and the cheapest ticket available was reportedly for $544 last night.

Before the Inter Miami news broke out, there were speculations that Messi might make an emotional return to Barcelona, a club which he had been associated with for over two decades before making the 2021 move to PSG.

"I've taken the decision that I am going to Miami, I don't have (the deal) 100 percent sealed or maybe there's something left to do, but we decided to continue our path there. (I decided) to leave Europe, it's true that I had offers from another European team but I didn't even think about it because in Europe, my idea was only to go to Barcelona. After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it's time to go to MLS to live football in a different way and enjoy my day-to-day life more,” news agency AFP quoted Lionel Messi as saying.

Lionel Messi will cap off his stay at PSG having scored 32 goals in 75 appearances. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner won two Ligue 1 titles and one Trophee des Champions trophy for PSG.

• Lionel Messi to join Inter Miami after PSG exit: BBC

• Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami sends ticket prices soaring

• Barcelona wish Messi good luck in MLS, a 'league with fewer demands'

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