LIONEL MESSI is on the verge of joining Inter Miami – and resale tickets for his debut are selling for an extortionate price.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is on the brink of signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the MLS side which will see him pocket a whopping £47million a year.
Messi, 35, is expected to make his debut in Inter’s Leagues Cup clash with Liga MX’s Cruz Azul on July 21.
And tickets for the Barcelona legend’s club bow are selling in the thousands on resale platforms.
According to Fortune, resale tickets for the match are being sold for a staggering £2000 ($2600).
That’s just under £60 less than what some fans of Taylor Swift had to pay to get a last-minute ticket for her recent show in Pittsburgh.
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The resale price for tickets to see Messi debut for Inter are so high as their temporary home – the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale – only has a capacity of 18,000 fans.
And Inter’s managing owner Jorge Mas expects every home game to be a sellout.
He told the Miami Herald: “We have already contracted to fill in the corners of the stadium that should increase capacity by approximately 3,000 to 3,200 seats [to a capacity of around 22,000].
“We are gearing up to do that work in the next four weeks. Every game will be sold out.
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“The demand for tickets has been 10 times what we can handle on a season ticket basis.”
The global fanfare Messi will bring to Inter has forced the club to draw up plans to increase their security.
Mas revealed: “As you may recall, Argentina trained in Miami before they flew over to to Doha [for last year’s World Cup].
“Where we had an opportunity to see some of the Messi mania at our doors on an everyday basis during practice.
“So, we’re very prepared. We’ve been getting ready for this.”
Footie fans from across the world will no doubt tune in on a regular basis to watch Messi see out his iconic career in the States.
And Mas believes the World Cup winner’s presence will have an unfathomable impact on The Beautiful Game in the USA.
He said: “I think there will always be a before and after Messi when we talk about the sport in the United States.
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“I have a very, very strong-held belief that we can create in North America and the United States, if not the greatest league, one of the top two leagues in the world.
“I cannot overemphasize the magnitude of this announcement.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
