Lionel Messi Just Had The Best Season In Mls History. Does Anyone Care?

OK, show of hands. How galore of you knew that Lionel Messi – a world superstar who has committed to walk his adjacent 3 years successful nan United States – conscionable completed nan champion individual play successful Major League Soccer history?

Be honest.

Most group will beryllium vaguely unsurprised by this news. You’re alert that nan top shot subordinate of each clip is winding down his profession successful North America, playing for whichever 1 has those pinkish kits that dot nan satellite for illustration a beautiful toxic slime mold. Context-free highlights drift past nan periphery of your consciousness, floating connected nan algorithm, and you heard a rumor nan kids person started calling Messi “braceman” because he scores 2 goals each game. Which, yeah, of people he does. He’s Messi.

Even among MLS diehards, Messi’s run seems oddly underappreciated. He won nan Golden Boot and tied for astir assists contempt missing a 4th of nan season, mounting caller records for non-penalty goals and extremity contributions on nan way. According to American Soccer Analysis’s precocious goals added metric, he added doubly arsenic overmuch worth complete nan mean subordinate arsenic second-place Denis Bouanga and near Carlos Vela’s 2019, nan erstwhile champion MLS run ever, successful nan dust. In spite of it all, chatter astir nan convention arsenic precocious arsenic past period was that maybe, conscionable maybe, San Diego’s Anders Dreyer aliases Cincinnati’s Evander would beryllium a much deserving MVP.

Which brings america to nan much important question: So what if Messi is tearing up MLS – does anyone really give a crud?

Supporters of opposing teams person reasons not to. After nan thrill of seeing him successful personification (or trading that summons to salary for nan remainder of nan season) wore off, each that was near was dutiful acknowledgment of his greatness and creeping resentment of his intrusion connected a niche fandom. The aforesaid convention that cancelled a fan-favorite podcast and replaced writers pinch AI tin still find plentifulness of room successful nan fund to plaster Messi’s look everywhere, but nan competitory equilibrium that used to beryllium a constituent of pride went retired nan model erstwhile 1 squad spent much than double nan mean costs measure to combine a Barcelona legends tour.

There’s besides plentifulness of grounds that your mean American sports instrumentality isn’t utilizing Messi arsenic a gateway to MLS arsenic overmuch arsenic anticipated. League executives once predicted that Messi mania and adjacent year’s World Cup would “double our fanbase by 2026, past we double it and double it again.” Instead, mean regular play attendance has dipped 5.5% year-on-year arsenic MLS continues to lose crushed to European competitions successful nan American shot boom. On Thursday, MLS boasted that its full play viewership for each matches had gone up 29%, but that could conscionable arsenic easy beryllium explained by nan summation successful streaming and world linear deals nan convention signed betwixt nan 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Google searches for Messi successful nan United States still way Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays successful Saudi Arabia, and spent nan summertime lagging down nan WNBA subordinate Caitlin Clark, who has surgery into nan nationalist sports speech successful a measurement MLS tin only envy.

Illustration: John Muller

Yes, nan remainder of nan world still loves Messi. Millions of group watch his Inter Miami highlights and click connected his sanction successful headlines. No, they don’t look to person been converted into rabid MLS aficionados. League commissioner Don Garber offered up immoderate ambiguous numbers earlier this twelvemonth to support nan declare that viewership is up “almost 50% compared to past year,” past added that it wasn’t “where we request to be.” Although Messi’s statement reportedly included a trim of streaming gross from nan MLS Season Pass package connected Apple, nan convention announced this week that it will make playoff games free to each Apple TV subscribers, suggesting that exemplary hasn’t rather worked out.

If location was immoderate dream nan full “Lionel Messi, Florida man” point would go a broader taste phenomenon, there’s not overmuch motion of it yet. Ted Lasso and Welcome to Wrexham brought shot into nan intermezo mainstream, racking up 418,000 and 24,000 reviews connected IMDb, respectively. Apple’s glossy Messi Meets America docuseries has 458 reviews. No, that’s not missing a comma.

The problem is there’s not overmuch of a communicative here. Messi is supposed to predominate MLS. When he succeeds, it’s because he plays successful what nan world still thinks of, nevertheless unfairly, arsenic a “retirement league.” When he and his Barcelona pals sometimes struggle – Inter Miami only vanished 3rd successful nan Eastern Conference this twelvemonth – well, what do you expect? They’re practically retired. There’s nary communicative that tin seizure nan imagination, conscionable a play clip show of otherworldly goals that look to beryllium extracurricular immoderate existent competitory context, moreover for fans of nan competition.

Maybe nan MLS playoffs tin still springiness this research immoderate juice. America loves a knockout tournament, and nan closest Messi has travel to conquering nan world’s biggest sports marketplace remains those magical first fewer weeks erstwhile Inter Miami won a mostly meaningless Leagues Cup successful 2023. Or possibly he’ll move backmost nan timepiece astatine adjacent summer’s World Cup and punctual group that each infinitesimal he has near connected nan transportation is still must-watch TV.

It seems much apt astatine this point, moreover aft his extension, that Messi’s stint successful Miami will walk into history arsenic a half-forgotten footnote to a legendary career, leaving MLS pinch a fistful of caller records but nary existent transformative change.