23 July 2023 , 16:56
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Counterfeit Inter Miami shirts bearing the name of the club's newest star Lionel Messi are flooding into Argentina, with hundreds of them having been seized at airports.
The Herons' pale pink jersey is clearly becoming a must-have piece of merchandise following the 36-year-old superstar's move to MLS and officials in the South American country have noted a growing "clear trend". According to , some 250 fake jerseys were seized by staff at Jorge Newbury Airport in the Argentine capital.
In one instance, it was alleged that a woman was caught trying to bring 50 pieces of the illicit shirts through customs, with officers from The General Customs Bureau finding the jerseys in plastic wrapping, with labels on them. When asked if she had anything to declare, the report states that the woman said she did not, before a closer inspection revealed the counterfeit goods.
Specialists were consulted about whether the shirts were genuine but it was determined that they were not and that the woman in question was planning to sell the fake merchandise upon entry into the country, given that genuine replicas are not yet on sale there. The Argentinian authorities eventually stated: “It’s allowed to bring clothing into the country within the so-called simplified regime.
They added: "But the cases detected over the last week have a volume that leads us to assume that it is being entered for profit. Her intention was likely to sell them as authentic and profit unlawfully from the passion generated by the seven-time Ballon D’Or winner in this country.
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On top of this, the woman was found to have been in possession of three tablets, as well as over 2,000 Pokemon cards, some 100 sachets of protein and numerous boxes of muscle supplements. Eventually, officials determined that it was her intention to also sell these goods, along with the counterfeit Inter Miami jerseys.
They stated: "It was all seized by Customs under Articles 977 and 978 of the Customs Code, since taking into account the number and variety of products, we can assume they were being imported with intent to sell them."
Argentine football player Lionel Messi's transfer to Inter Miami is capturing the imaginations of the American public (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)There is no doubt that the interest in owning a Vice City shirt bearing the name of the former Barcelona hero has reached staggering levels in recent times. This is probably best demonstrated by the fact that suppliers Adidas are now having to majorly step up their efforts to get the shirts from production to consumers, such is the demand.
As per Front Office Sports, the clamour to own this unique piece of US sporting history has meant that the German sportswear giants have had to do six months' worth of work in half that time. The backlog of orders for Herons shirts means that anyone looking to purchase a jersey now will have to wait until October for it to arrive.
Of course, with Messi taking home a share of any profits gleaned from MLS merchandise sold following his arrival stateside, it is clear that the icon will be well remunerated off the back of the mania that has developed following his transfer to Miami. Alongside his basic pay of $150 million (£117.6m) over the course of his deal, he has also signed a lucrative deal with tech giants Apple.