yeah, especially in the last few days with the “humo” of him going to Newell’s next year. Carla, I’ve “known” and even interviewed Messi, but never have I been so disappointed in someone like him. There are many facets of him and his people that one has seen and many other journalists behind the scenes that have made this experience a true disappointment. “He” (him and his people) have total control of Inter Miami, making it an even more toxic place than it was before. If you do not believe me, check out every so often how many times they place the same jobs on different employment sites.
I appreciate your comments and your openness. It’s a side of the story we rarely see, and I value you sharing such an honest "behind-the-scenes" look.
I agree that the recent Newell’s "humo", especially with the talk of a move on 2025, combined with his public relationship with Chiqui Tapia, has created some friction. While he remains a global icon, these narratives do complicate his local image here in Argentina. Furthermore, the fact that Di María is linked with a return to their rival (Rosario Central) has only intensified the sentiment among local fans.
I’ll certainly keep all of this in mind as I look into how the club is managed. Even if I don't pivot my entire next post to this specific topic, it’s a vital piece of context I’ll be watching closely.
Thanks for the comment and for adding that layer of analysis! I completely agree that this risks being a short-term boost for the local economy (or as we say in Spanish, "sábana corta").
As an Argentine, I’ve been thinking a lot about Messi's retirement. I suspect Inter Miami might try to replicate the "Beckham model" by making him a lifelong global ambassador. He seems comfortable in Miami and doesn't have a defined post-retirement path yet, so it’s a strong possibility. That said, it’s hard to imagine his off-field presence generating anywhere near the same economic impact as his magic on the pitch.
Well done, again. I like what you’re doing here. You know how to pull the business levers into view.
Two things:
First, una preguntita…underneath the “Lionel Messi Effect”
who actually captures the Messi-driven surplus, by mechanism, after MLS rules and Apple TV platform economics take their cut? Where does the money land, and who misses it?
I ask this often because I lived in Miami pre-and post- Messi arrival. I watched the city flip into spectacle mode, the same kind of street buzz I saw when I was again living in Miami and Lebron came the Heat.
Great energy, but also a zoo, with nonstop attention and global eyes.
And yet I didn’t see the carryover into the broader city. I saw far more community touchpoints from the Heat era than I ever saw from Inter Miami CF. I can point to more moments where the club avoided local engagement than moments where it invested in it.
So I have a challenge for you, if it’s interesting.
I’d love a follow-up with your eyes that traces who captures the upside (club, league, sponsors, secondary ticket sellers, platforms), who eats the costs (hosts, staff, city logistics), and what the club returns to the community, if anything measurable.
If we call it a macroeconomic event, we need to audit where the surplus went. Especially in a city like Miami with significant socioeconomic disparity
What a challenge! Thank you so much for this, you’ve hit on the exact tension I find most fascinating. There’s such a huge gap between the global buzz we see on our screens and the actual local carryover in the streets of Miami.
Comparing the Heat’s local legacy to Inter Miami’s "spectacle mode" is the perfect way to look at this. We often talk about this "Messi Effect" as a macroeconomic event, but we rarely audit who actually keeps the change. Tracing that surplus is exactly the kind of deep dive I love doing.
Tracing exactly where that Messi-driven surplus lands (and who it bypasses) is a deep dive that needs to be done. Thanks for the spark!
Great read Carla! And thank you for the mention. Despite it being talked about a lot in the mainstream the in depth nature of this newsletter truly shows the amount we still have to explore within the business behind MLS!
Thanks for the comment! Your piece was a great resource for understanding the finer details and context of MLS.
Adding to what you've mentioned, it’s fascinating to see how the combination of the "Messi Effect," new star arrivals, and the World Cup catalyst is accelerating the growth of the league.
Messi's arrival has transformed Inter Miami. But this story reveals that global football's value flows to capital, not to where talent originates. While MLS clubs leverage closed-league structures and billionaire backing to capture Messi's worth, African academies producing world-class players operate without similar insulation. The system rewards ownership of stars, not cultivation of them. The real question isn't how one player moved markets, but rather why the system that built him rarely shares in the reward.
Thanks for this! it’s a crucial perspective. This resonates with the South American reality, where clubs often act as a social safety net and "second family" for young talent, only to be bypassed when the financial rewards flow toward the stars.
I'm really curious to dive deeper into how this plays out in African academies! do you have any specific examples or cases I should look into?
You're welcome! And yes, that South American parallel is sharp. The safety net function is real across the Global South. Two concrete examples worth exploring are: Right to Dream (Ghana). Players like Mohammed Kudus graduated from this academy, and perhaps Asec Mimosas (Ivory Coast). I'd be happy to collaborate with you on this. Let's chat in the DM.
Excellent examples. I was familiar with Right to Dream, but ASEC Mimosas is a new and fascinating rabbit hole for me, thank you! The sustainability of their “talent factory” is a story that needs more eyes. I'd love to collaborate on this. I'm sending you a DM now so we can coordinate!
I completely understand. I think the real behavior to watch isn't just that it fades, but the rate of decay, specifically, how fast and how deep it drops from 100 back to 1.
Great article. The problem here is, like the rest of Miami, he was sold as an "economic salvation"
to the City of Miami and South Florida. The question is what happens after he retires? If that money drops, then it was just a money grab.
yeah, especially in the last few days with the “humo” of him going to Newell’s next year. Carla, I’ve “known” and even interviewed Messi, but never have I been so disappointed in someone like him. There are many facets of him and his people that one has seen and many other journalists behind the scenes that have made this experience a true disappointment. “He” (him and his people) have total control of Inter Miami, making it an even more toxic place than it was before. If you do not believe me, check out every so often how many times they place the same jobs on different employment sites.
I appreciate your comments and your openness. It’s a side of the story we rarely see, and I value you sharing such an honest "behind-the-scenes" look.
I agree that the recent Newell’s "humo", especially with the talk of a move on 2025, combined with his public relationship with Chiqui Tapia, has created some friction. While he remains a global icon, these narratives do complicate his local image here in Argentina. Furthermore, the fact that Di María is linked with a return to their rival (Rosario Central) has only intensified the sentiment among local fans.
I’ll certainly keep all of this in mind as I look into how the club is managed. Even if I don't pivot my entire next post to this specific topic, it’s a vital piece of context I’ll be watching closely.
Thanks again for the insight!
Thanks for the comment and for adding that layer of analysis! I completely agree that this risks being a short-term boost for the local economy (or as we say in Spanish, "sábana corta").
As an Argentine, I’ve been thinking a lot about Messi's retirement. I suspect Inter Miami might try to replicate the "Beckham model" by making him a lifelong global ambassador. He seems comfortable in Miami and doesn't have a defined post-retirement path yet, so it’s a strong possibility. That said, it’s hard to imagine his off-field presence generating anywhere near the same economic impact as his magic on the pitch.
Carla !
Well done, again. I like what you’re doing here. You know how to pull the business levers into view.
Two things:
First, una preguntita…underneath the “Lionel Messi Effect”
who actually captures the Messi-driven surplus, by mechanism, after MLS rules and Apple TV platform economics take their cut? Where does the money land, and who misses it?
I ask this often because I lived in Miami pre-and post- Messi arrival. I watched the city flip into spectacle mode, the same kind of street buzz I saw when I was again living in Miami and Lebron came the Heat.
Great energy, but also a zoo, with nonstop attention and global eyes.
And yet I didn’t see the carryover into the broader city. I saw far more community touchpoints from the Heat era than I ever saw from Inter Miami CF. I can point to more moments where the club avoided local engagement than moments where it invested in it.
So I have a challenge for you, if it’s interesting.
I’d love a follow-up with your eyes that traces who captures the upside (club, league, sponsors, secondary ticket sellers, platforms), who eats the costs (hosts, staff, city logistics), and what the club returns to the community, if anything measurable.
If we call it a macroeconomic event, we need to audit where the surplus went. Especially in a city like Miami with significant socioeconomic disparity
You have a real eye for threads…keep going!
What a challenge! Thank you so much for this, you’ve hit on the exact tension I find most fascinating. There’s such a huge gap between the global buzz we see on our screens and the actual local carryover in the streets of Miami.
Comparing the Heat’s local legacy to Inter Miami’s "spectacle mode" is the perfect way to look at this. We often talk about this "Messi Effect" as a macroeconomic event, but we rarely audit who actually keeps the change. Tracing that surplus is exactly the kind of deep dive I love doing.
Tracing exactly where that Messi-driven surplus lands (and who it bypasses) is a deep dive that needs to be done. Thanks for the spark!
Great article!
Thank you!!
Great read Carla! And thank you for the mention. Despite it being talked about a lot in the mainstream the in depth nature of this newsletter truly shows the amount we still have to explore within the business behind MLS!
Thanks for the comment! Your piece was a great resource for understanding the finer details and context of MLS.
Adding to what you've mentioned, it’s fascinating to see how the combination of the "Messi Effect," new star arrivals, and the World Cup catalyst is accelerating the growth of the league.
Quite a good read!
Thank you!!!
Messi's arrival has transformed Inter Miami. But this story reveals that global football's value flows to capital, not to where talent originates. While MLS clubs leverage closed-league structures and billionaire backing to capture Messi's worth, African academies producing world-class players operate without similar insulation. The system rewards ownership of stars, not cultivation of them. The real question isn't how one player moved markets, but rather why the system that built him rarely shares in the reward.
Thanks for this! it’s a crucial perspective. This resonates with the South American reality, where clubs often act as a social safety net and "second family" for young talent, only to be bypassed when the financial rewards flow toward the stars.
I'm really curious to dive deeper into how this plays out in African academies! do you have any specific examples or cases I should look into?
You're welcome! And yes, that South American parallel is sharp. The safety net function is real across the Global South. Two concrete examples worth exploring are: Right to Dream (Ghana). Players like Mohammed Kudus graduated from this academy, and perhaps Asec Mimosas (Ivory Coast). I'd be happy to collaborate with you on this. Let's chat in the DM.
Excellent examples. I was familiar with Right to Dream, but ASEC Mimosas is a new and fascinating rabbit hole for me, thank you! The sustainability of their “talent factory” is a story that needs more eyes. I'd love to collaborate on this. I'm sending you a DM now so we can coordinate!
Brilliant!
I completely understand. I think the real behavior to watch isn't just that it fades, but the rate of decay, specifically, how fast and how deep it drops from 100 back to 1.