Lionel Messi MLS Debut: When Is It and How Much Are the Tickets?

Lionel Messi is now officially playing for Inter Miami after a lavish reveal ceremony that showed him off in pink. The demand for MLS tickets is high, especially if Inter Miami is playing, with his tickets costing hundreds of thousands.

Those who want to see him make his Inter Miami debut against Mexican team Cruz Azul should expect to fork over a huge amount of money, as tickets to see the match have an average price of $487, with some fans traveling hundreds of miles just to see him play. CNN noted that this is twice that of last year's League Cup match between Inter Miami and FC Barcelona.

The more expensive tickets could cost up to $110,000.

The match against Cruz Azul is an international friendly, but his MLS debut would be against Charlotte on August 20. Tickets to that match are averaging $288, with ticket prices going up by almost 900% since early June as speculations that Messi is coming to MLS were still brewing.

Messi chose Inter Miami over a more lucrative deal with Saudi Arabia that would have been worth a billion dollars. He also turned down a return to FC Barcelona. His Inter Miami deal is reportedly worth $50 to $60 million per year, far less than what Saudi Arabia was reportedly offering him.

Rain Could Not Spoil Lionel Messi's Inter Miami Introduction

The Argentinian soccer legend was finally unveiled in Inter Miami pink at the DRV PNK Stadium where he shook hands with David Beckham before addressing the fans. However, these fans had to wait for hours while soaking in the rain to see Lionel Messi.

However, the rain could not dampen the excitement in the stadium as thousands of fans still cheered loudly when he was finally presented to them, according to Yahoo! News.

He spoke to the crowd in Spanish, saying, "I am very excited, very happy to be here, in Miami, with all of you. I am... I want to thank, obviously, Jorge [Mas], Jose [Mas], David [Beckham], and their family, for the warm welcome and affection every day, for making us feel at home so quickly, making everything easy. The truth is that it has been spectacular for us since we arrived. I'm really looking forward to starting training, starting to compete."

The Argentinian added that he is very happy that he chose Miami and stated that he and his family will enjoy the city a lot.

Cristiano Ronaldo Says Saudi Arabia League Better Than MLS

Lionel Messi was offered big money to come to Saudi Arabia, but he turned it down. Cristiano Ronaldo did not and is now playing for Saudi side Al Nassr. The Portuguese legend has recently made several eyebrow-raising claims regarding Saudi Arabian soccer.

Ronaldo is taking credit for the sudden influx of European and South American soccer stars signing with Saudi teams and claimed that the Saudi Pro League is better than the MLS. This claim was said as Inter Miami unveiled his rival as its latest addition.

The former Manchester United star claimed that "European football has lost all of its quality." except for the Premier League, but added that he would not return to European football, according to The Daily Mail.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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