Inter Miami's number of followers spiked
According to Marca (Spain), Messi has had great success at Inter Miami, at least in the commercial and social spheres. On the social network Instagram, after signing information with the 2022 World Cup champion, Inter Miami's account increased from one million to 11.6 million followers.
In Spain, this figure is only inferior to the statistics of Real Madrid, Barca and Atletico. In Brazil, it is second only to Flamengo with 17.6 million followers. The two biggest clubs in Argentina, Boca Juniors and River Plate, have 8.3 million and 7.8 million followers respectively. Statistics of American football and baseball teams, the top two sports in this country, also lose to Inter Miami's numbers.
"Today, athletes are the main bridge for young fans in all sports," said Bruno Brum, Marketing Director of Agencia End to End. "It's not uncommon to see LeBron James supporters watching and supporting the Los Angeles Lakers. The big challenge for clubs when it comes to signing stars that are more pervasive than their current status is to strengthen these connections, building a long-term following, not just during the time the player plays for them."
According to Fabio Wolff, Director of Wolff Sports, Messi is one of the three greatest players in football history. Therefore, the fact that Inter Miami signed Messi attracted worldwide attention, and the increase in statistics on social networks was inevitable.
On Tiktok, Inter Miami has 5.3 million followers, three times more than before Messi owned. They also have three million followers on Facebook and 700,000 on Twitter. Add all social networks, Inter Miami has more than 30 million fans.
Now, Inter Miami needs to think not only about making money, but also about strategic planning to sustain growth. "The charisma of icons like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar is very impressive," said Armenio Neto, an expert at Let's Goal. "The question is what will happen with this growth. Ticket sales, product sales and new sponsorships will explode. But you have to work continuously, especially when Messi is at the end of his career and Inter Miami is a super young team. It will be interesting to see the medium and long-term strategy of Beckham and the club."
According to Ivan Martino, Professor of Sports Marketing at ESPM, in sports and entertainment, the strategy of betting on superstars has proven to be more effective. He said that in addition to the big impact and the increase in the number of followers on social networks, Inter Miami and the MLS Organizing Committee must create products that can recoup the initial investment.
Messi holds the record of winning seven Ballon d'Or. The 36-year-old striker also won 10 La Liga, four Champions Leagues, two Ligue 1s, the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 Intercontinental Super Cup and the 2022 World Cup. Messi joined Inter Miami on a free transfer, after his contract with PSG expired in early July. On July 21, in his Inter Miami debut, he took a direct free kick to win 2-1 over Cruz Azul in the 90+4 minute.
