A billionaire named Jorge Mas was successful in convincing the most famous soccer player in the world to sign with a struggling side that is now occupying the cellar of its league.
Now all that’s required of him is to turn a profit.
The construction executive, who is 60 years old, has Lionel Messi and Apple on his side as he works toward his goal of significantly increasing the amount of money that can be made from the sport of soccer in the United States. A standard cash-for-services arrangement was replaced with revenue sharing accords and an ownership part in the organization when he signed Messi to a contract. This was the lynchpin of his strategy, and it was a deal-making method that was closer to the playbook of Wall Street.
The idea that Mas has for the international superstar is that he will bring millions of new users to the streaming service Apple TV+ as well as top players to Major League Soccer. While Mas’s Inter Miami soccer team is poised to make millions more from increased ticket and merchandise sales, Messi will receive a portion of the windfall from any increase in foreign accounts for Apple TV+. According to Mas’s idea, the excitement around Messi will have a trickle-down impact that will be seen throughout the league..
“I have very high aspirations for Inter Miami, for MLS, and for the sport,” Mas said in an interview on Monday, a day after hundreds of fans stood in the rain to witness Messi don the Florida team’s uniform for the first time. Messi was making his first appearance for Inter Miami since joining the club from Barcelona. “I’m all in.”
A player who has had an incredible career but is also becoming old by the norms of his profession is almost everything that is riding on this idea, thus it is safe to say that it is a hazardous proposition. After spending two years at Paris Saint-Germain, where in recent weeks he was on the receiving end of supporters’ criticisms about his performance, and after leading Argentina to a good World Cup performance last year, the 36-year-old is moving to Miami to continue his career.
Messi is following in the footsteps of other older soccer champions who have relocated to North America, with varying degrees of success. In the 1970s, Brazilian icon Pele came out of retirement at the age of 34 and spent three seasons playing for the New York Cosmos. In comparison, David Beckham left Real Madrid in 2007 to join the Los Angeles Galaxy. Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, and Thierry Henry were all there. Even Nevertheless, the anticipated surge in popularity of soccer in the United States never materialized.
On the other hand, Mas is a patient man. In his office in the affluent neighborhood of Coral Gables, Florida, Mas claims it took more than three years to lure Messi to Miami. Surrounding him are jerseys worn by Messi and volumes written by Henry Kissinger.
The Inter-Miami On Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the team was having a workout, and Lionel Messi was there working out. The Inter-Miami On Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the team was having a workout, and Lionel Messi was there working out. portion of the pitch involved selling Messi on living in Florida. Mas highlighted the prospect of coming to a “country that’s hungry for soccer, where he could literally change the sport,” and closer proximity to his family in Argentina as selling points for Messi to move to Florida. On the other hand, there were significant financial incentives.
The base wage that Messi has agreed to sign Inter Miami is $20 million per year, with the potential for it to reach $60 million with bonuses. Messi’s deal with the club continues through 2025. When Messi finally hangs up his cleats, he’ll be rewarded with a minority ownership position in the club.
He also has an agreement with Adidas and a special arrangement with Apple TV+, both of which will work to his advantage if a significant number of people from other countries sign up for the streaming service. According to Mas’s estimation, Messi might bring in 2 million new international accounts in the space of 18 months. There is no other player in this country who is capable of having the same kind of influence on the international stage as Leo Messi.
Adidas did not wish to comment and stated that the company does not disclose the terms of its contracts. Apple did not respond to a message that sought a response from the company.
Even if it is impossible to provide an accurate prediction of how much Messi’s package in Miami will ultimately be worth, it was sufficient to sway him away from a far more clear offer made by the Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal. According to the stories in the news, he would have made over 400 million dollars annually from that arrangement.
Apple TV+ has signed a $2.5 billion, 10-year deal with Major League Soccer to display the league’s matches on its platform. This move is part of the company’s strategy to increase its subscriber base through the use of sports. Ted Lasso, one of its most popular television programs, focuses on a fake Premier League squad that is coached by an American who has no prior experience in the field of soccer coaching.
It’s almost like a reflection of how Mas got his start in the soccer business by accident. Mas is the son of Jorge Mas Canosa, a Cuban immigrant who rose to prominence as a leader in the fight to topple Fidel Castro. Mas was named after his father. MasTec, which constructs pipelines, fiber-optic networks, and wind farms across the United States, is the source of the family’s riches, which is estimated to be worth $9.1 billion. His brother is the chief executive officer, although Mas is the chairman of the board.
After a number of years during which he was unsuccessful in his bid to purchase the Miami Marlins, Mas bought out Beckham’s partners at Inter Miami, and his family now owns eighty percent of the team. When compared to the previous year’s estimate of $585 million that was provided by Sportico, Mas believes that Messi will change the fortunes of the squad and estimates that its valuation might reach $1.5 billion within the next year.
Gerardo “Tata” Martino, a former coach for Barcelona and Argentina, and Sergio Busquets, a former midfielder for Barcelona, have both been engaged by Mas, who also intends to bring in a new business partner and shirt sponsor. According to him, the plan for Inter Miami is to combine veteran players with younger players who are just starting out.
On Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi posed for photos with Inter Miami owners Jorge Mas (far left), Jose Mas (third from left), and David Beckham. | AFP-JIJIOn Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi posed for photos with Inter Miami owners Jorge Mas (far left), Jose Mas (third from left), and David Beckham. | AFP-JIJIThe new Freedom Park stadium, which will be home to Inter Miami and have the capacity to hold up to 25,000 spectators, will soon begin construction. According to Mas, the privately funded project has seen its expenses grow by approximately 40% from the initial estimate of $1 billion. Because it is scheduled to be finished in 2025, which is Messi’s final year of his contract, Mas is clinging to the hope that his star player would remain with the club for a while longer.
First thing on Monday morning, Mas went to Inter Miami’s current DRV PNK Stadium (pronounced “Drive Pink”) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to watch Lionel Messi go through a light practice there for the very first time. “It was so unbelievable,” he exclaimed.
According to Mas, Lionel Messi will live in the suburb for the time being since he expressed a desire to be “no further than 10 minutes away from the training center.” Fans of Messi have already started following him about Miami, even following him as he strolls through the store.
Mas expressed his primary concern to be that Messi would be unable to locate suitable educational opportunities for his three children. After the pandemic made Miami a magnet for wealthy visitors, it became nearly impossible to gain admission to one of the city’s most prestigious private schools. They were fortunate in that the Mas family had a long history of favors to call in and was able to help them find a place to stay.
Mas explained, “I wanted to make sure his arrival here was as smooth and seamless as possible.” “And I believe that everything is going well so far.”
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