Messi Is Going to Hate Major League Soccer
Lionel Messi leaves Paris Saint-Germain and will begin a new challenge in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi is technically under contract at Paris Saint-Germain until the end of the month, so I feel it’s still appropriate to provide commentary about where the 35-year-old will take his talents next.
According to the latest reporting, Messi is destined for Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer. That’s right; the GOAT is coming to America. To get Messi to MLS, the league had to work with Apple, the current holder of its broadcasting rights, and Adidas to ensure Messi receives a percentage of the revenue generated from new subscribers and jersey sales.
Besides being a PSG supporter, I’m also a season ticket holder for my local MLS team, Real Salt Lake. So, I think I’m uniquely positioned to comment on why Messi will find life in America difficult and why the celebration regarding his arrival may be shortlived.
Quality
When you look at the standings, Inter Miami sits in last place in the Eastern Conference with more games played than points. That should tell you a little something about the quality of Messi’s future teammates. DeAndre Yedlin has some Premier League experience, and Josef Martínez used to be one of the most prolific scorers in MLS, but they’re in last place by a good margin for a reason.
Inter Miami’s poor performance this season recently led to the sacking of the club’s manager, Phil Neville, and you have to imagine his replacement will be hand-picked by Messi. If that holds true, I guarantee the new manager will allow Messi to coast in training and do what he wants. That’s not exactly what a team in last place needs.
Messi led Ligue 1 in assists this season and recorded 16 goals in the French top flight. Even in the twilight of his career, Messi can still be productive, but he needs to have quality around him. Many of his assists were to Kylian Mbappé and, earlier in the season before his injury, to Neymar Jr. There simply isn’t Mbappé/Neymar quality in the Inter Miami squad and I believe Messi will struggle with this realization. I predict many of his passes will go untouched, and it could sometimes look comical. MLS is already several notches below the top European leagues, and Inter Miami is at the bottom of that. Messi should prepare for a summer of frustration.
Travel / Climate / Time Zones
After some quick Google Maps research, the distance from the Parc des Princes to the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille is approximately 500 miles. The trip from the Parc to the Allianz Riviera in Nice is about 580 miles. Those are some of the longest away matches for PSG this past season, but they pale in comparison to what Messi will have to contend with at Inter Miami:
Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium to World Wide Technology Soccer Park in St. Louis: ~1,200 miles
DRV PNK Stadium to Soldier Field in Chicago: ~1,300 miles
DRV PNK Stadium to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles: ~2,740 miles
Still having difficulty imagining how different the travel is going to be for Messi, who has spent the majority of his career in Europe? Take a look at this map that shows MLS clubs remapped to equivalent distances across Europe (via Reddit):
In 2019, The Guardian asked five European players about their experience in Major League Soccer. Here is what they had to say:
“…the hardest thing is the traveling. We are lucky because Dallas is almost in the middle of the country, so it’s not too bad. There are a few flights that are close to four hours. This is the thing I’ve had to adapt to. You travel a lot and spend a lot of time in airports. An airport isn’t the best place to recover, but you get used to that.” — Reto Ziegler
“I must admit, it was quite tough to start with. I came over off the back of an offseason in Scotland when the team was in the middle of their season. I was trying to get fit while playing important games. Plus, the weather is so warm, and travel to away games might see you go across a few different time zones and different climes…” — Gary Mackay-Steven
Climate, altitude, and time zones could be Messi’s biggest challenges upon arriving in MLS.
Referees
This is a more subjective observation, but over the past few years, I’ve come to the realization that MLS referees are abysmal, and you should never rely on them to get a call correct.
Jozy Altidore knows what I’m talking about. In 2019, he tweeted, “MLS refs are some of the worst in the world. Absolutely horrible.”
And you don’t have to look far for article highlighting the problem either:
The issue I have is they are so inconsistent. You never know what you’re going to get from game to game. The refs in Ligue 1 are notoriously bad, but MLS takes it to a new level.
Now, I’m sure the refs will be under strict instructions to protect Messi at all costs, but that doesn’t mean their overall incompetence won’t frustrate Messi. Remember, he’s one of the best players ever to play the game, and he’s being reffed by the junior varsity of referees.
Media
At PSG, Messi was mainly allowed to do his thing without too many media distractions. He spoke to the media occasionally and on his terms, but nothing like what he’s about to face in America. This is the first time that Messi is joining a club/league where the primary goal is marketing. You could argue that was PSG’s primary goal as well, but at least they were competing in the UEFA Champions League, a serious trophy Messi very much wanted to win again. He could care less about an MLS title. It means nothing to him or his legacy.
So, with marketing as the main goal, Messi will be obligated to speak to the media regularly. There will be requests like he’s never seen. I’m not sure he can get away with a few appearances on camera here and there. He’ll have to step up to a microphone, perhaps with a translator, and speak to provide content for the league that is making major financial sacrifices to bring him there.
MLS will be expecting something akin to what Zlatan Ibrahimovic did when he arrived to play for the L.A. Galaxy in terms of going on talk shows and promoting the sport and league. This isn’t Messi’s thing. As great of a footballer as he is, his personality isn’t as engaging, and I don’t think he’ll enjoy the media obligations that will come with his new team.
Opponents
Lastly, Messi will need to keep his head on a swivel. In La Liga, he was protected by referees on the pitch, and the league, in general, just isn’t that physical. Ligue 1 is a different story because it’s known for its physicality, but there is a higher level of quality in the French league compared to MLS. There’s an art to a good, hard tackle, and unfortunately, in MLS, I’ve seen far too many reckless challenges from players who rely on physicality more than skill.
In an article titled, “Is MLS too physical?” journalist Beau Dure asked veteran Alecko Eskandarian about the league:
“I would say that MLS is much more physical than most leagues in the world. I don’t think I realized it until guys who had played overseas their whole lives come here and are like, ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ If you are not up to par with your physicality and fitness, your skill is useless in MLS.”
I can 100% see a young kid in MLS looking to make a name for himself by attempting to take the ball off Messi with a rough trophy challenge and get it all wrong.
Conclusion
Will Messi’s American adventure be a success? That depends on how you view success. Will he increase subscriptions to Apple’s MLS Season Pass? Absolutely. Will all of his games sell out, home and away? Absolutely. Will he sell millions of dollars worth of Inter Miami’s pink Adidas jersey? No doubt about it.
Off the pitch, Messi will be a resounding success, just like he was when he wore a PSG shirt. But is that what MLS needs? At PSG, much of the off-the-field success was fake. As soon as Messi left, two million accounts unfollowed PSG on Instagram. His jersey sold because of the name “Messi,” not because of the PSG badge. With Messi comes fans who only idolize him and simply will not care about the history or success of Inter Miami or MLS.
On the pitch, it’s hard to imagine Messi will have Inter Miami in his heart and will battle for the badge to get them into the playoffs. At PSG, he skipped a training session late in the season following a loss and was suspended. Messi never cared about PSG, and it showed. He’ll have flashes of brilliance that will dazzle easily-impressed casual American fans, but he’ll never dig deep and do what it takes to get Miami or the league to the levels both seem to think he will.