Lionel Messi signing impact laid bare as Inter Miami ink rare MLS contract
Lionel Messi has made a swashbuckling start to life at Inter Miami on the pitch but it appears that his arrival stateside is paying dividends off it too for his new club.
The Argentine superstar has supplied the goods for his new employers since his move to South Beach, living up to his billing with a staggering seven strikes in four outings. The seven-time Ballon d'Or holder has already helped the Herons to turn around their fortunes, with his form having proved the catalyst their run to the Leagues Cup quarter-finals.
Given the 36-year-old's worldwide renown it is, perhaps, only to be expected that his presence stateside will result in e xtra commercial exposure for his new team as well. Now, it seems that the unprecedented mania surrounding Messi's move to the US has even made the fashion industry sit up and take notice.
The Floridan franchise have announced that they have struck a deal with Japanese designer brand BAPE - otherwise known as A Bathing Ape. This will mean that enthusiasts from around the globe can purchase a unique piece of Inter Miami merchandise, which will include pullover hoodies, T-shirts, sweat shorts and caps.
This is not the streetwear label's first foray into the world of football, with their previous collaboration with Paris Saint-Germain having taken place back in 2019. On top of this, BAPE also launched a collaboration with footwear brand Clarks which was fronted by Premier League star and England international Raheem Sterling a year later.
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The brand - which was established in Tokyo in 1993 - has stores across the world including in Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Dubai, New York City, Kuala Lumpur, London and Los Angeles. Intriguingly, the label also has an outlet in Miami, with their collaborative merchandise to be available for sale at the store in Midtown, alongside the club's own dedicated shop.
If the sales of jerseys bearing Messi's name over the course of this summer are anything to go by, the partnership between the Vice City outfit and BAPE could prove a particularly lucrative one. Every MLS team has a deal with Adidas, and it is extremely rare for any team to make a deal outside of that agreement.
There has been an explosion of demand from supporters across the world in owning Inter Miami shirts bearing the World Cup winner's name in recent times, so much so that jerseys are sold out until October.
Lionel Messi is a major commercial draw for Inter Miami and that is starting to become clear through deals (Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)In addition, it cannot be overlooked that sales of these shirts broke the domestic record for the most sold within the first 24 hours of his arrival at the MLS club. Incredibly, this feat means that he leads the way over fellow household names Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady and LeBron James.
Of course, this exponential growth in the interest in Inter Miami from the general public forms part of the masterplan laid out by the franchise's ambitious co-owner Jorge Mas. He has made no secret of his desire to turn Miami into the go-to destination for players wishing to move to MLS and he has forecast that the club's revenues could double during the next year.
Describing his vision for the club amid the successful integration of Messi into the team, the construction tycoon previously asserted on CNBC: "It's incumbent on myself and my partners in Major League Soccer and fellow owners to seize the moment.
"[To] seize the unprecedented opportunities that we have ahead of us to hopefully elevate Major League Soccer over the course of the next three to five years to compete with the Premier League, that’s our ambition."
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