Jorge Mas, a joint proprietor of Inter Miami, disclosed that the club’s leader, Lionel Messi, earns an annual sum ranging from $70 million to $80 million, incorporating his equity stakes. Mas elucidated this remuneration by highlighting the team’s imperative to optimize endorsement agreements and supplementary income streams.
In recent days, the club forged an agreement with Nu, a Brazilian financial services firm, granting it the nomenclature privileges for the team’s upcoming arena situated in proximity to Miami International Airport.
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The Nu Stadium, an edifice with a 26,700-seat capacity that is still being built, is slated to stage its inaugural game on April 4.
Mas informed Bloomberg in an interview disseminated on Friday that his rationale for requiring top-tier benefactors stems from the high cost of players. He stated, “I remunerate Messi — and it’s entirely merited — but that amounts to $70 million to $80 million annually, encompassing all aspects.”
Messi stands as Major League Soccer’s most remunerated player, securing a foundational pay of $12 million alongside an assured remuneration totaling $20,446,667, as per the pay scale document issued by the MLS Players Association.
ESPN has indicated that Messi additionally profits from supplementary income sources, including his promotional agreement with Adidas and a profit-sharing arrangement with Apple, the league’s official broadcaster.
Having commenced with the club in summer 2023, Messi inked a prolongation with Inter Miami in October of the previous year, valid until the conclusion of the 2028 season.
Arrangements to leverage the prospective presence of the recipient of eight Ballon d’Or awards commenced well in advance of Messi declaring his purpose to join the club, as unveiled by Xavier Asensi, Inter Miami’s chief of commercial activities, in a fresh discussion with ESPN.
Asensi conveyed to ESPN, “I reject the concept of chance; I perceive the interpretation of serendipity as when readiness encounters a favorable moment.”
He continued, “Events unfold, or you can orchestrate them, but you must be ready for their occurrence. I believe we observe precisely that in this instance. Lionel’s presence is not arbitrary; there’s effort underpinning it, a scheme and a design to bring it to fruition. It embodies the U.S. principle of ‘aspire to excellence, brace for the least favorable.’”
Asensi added, “One endeavors for peak performance, and then, upon reaching that point, one attempts to undertake actions prior, concurrent, and subsequent to optimize the effect it can have.”
He offered a tangible instance: “When we finalized the primary kit endorsement contract in 2021, I incorporated a provision stipulating that if the club recruited an athlete who had secured a minimum of five Ballon d’Or accolades, the endorsement fee would escalate twofold.”
“That is stipulated within the agreement. This pact dates back to 2021. Consequently, it serves as evidence. I mean, as early as 2021, agreements already contained stipulations that psychologically readied the club and its organizational framework for the eventuality of Lionel’s possible presence here.”
Inter Miami’s landmark deal with Messi is proving beneficial. The club is positioned as the highest-valued MLS team, estimated at $1.45 billion, as per Sportico.
The publication additionally indicated that Inter Miami’s appraisal increased by 22% within a single year.
“Why have we expanded? Because we’ve triumphed,” Asensi stated.
Asensi stated that Messi’s influence on the fiscal dimension of the team is “distinctly evident,” underscoring that absent his pitch performances, the club would find itself in a dissimilar circumstance.
“Leo transforms everything favorably, in one regard,” he remarked. “Since Lionel’s advent, we advanced to the US Open Cup championship game, clinched the Leagues Cup, secured the Supporters’ Shield, achieved an unparalleled points total, secured a spot in the Champions League, triumphed in the MLS Cup, advanced to a subsequent Leagues Cup final, made it to the Champions League penultimate stage, and secured entry to the Club World Cup.”
He concluded, “I believe it’s undeniably clear and apparent that Lionel’s on-field involvement, coupled with all accompanying factors, has enabled the team to excel, and this aligns with what I previously stated: as a football club, we are contingent upon match results.”