He’s coming! Lionel Messi is on his way to Inter Miami and Major League Soccer. The World Cup winner announced his decision on Wednesday in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. Major League Soccer did put out a statement that the deal is not 100% official but that it was near completion.
Messi making this kind of announcement is usually an uncharacteristic move for MLS, who usually makes their big announcements when everything is signed, sealed, and delivered. Then again, this is Lionel Messi, and Messi marches to his own beat.
Upon the Argentine’s announcement Inter Miami’s Instagram account doubled their follower count and as of this writing Inter Miami has more Instagram followers than many of the biggest sports teams in the United States.
Inter Miami now at 5.1 million Instagram followers
Inter Miami began the day with 1 million followers on Instagram, nearly 12 hours later the club has 5.1 million followers. The post that announces Lionel Messi has 2.5 million likes, the most liked post of the page.
When compared to other major sports teams, Inter Miami has a higher Instagram following than the New York Yankees (3.2M), Dallas Cowboys (4.5M), New England Patriots (4.9M), Boston Red Sox (2.2M), and San Francisco 49ers (2.8M).
Those numbers will eventually double as Lionel Messi starts doing promotion and playing for the club which is currently last in the MLS East standings and is in the semifinal of the US Open Cup.
