'The Messi Effect' explores how Messi's arrival in Miami is changing American soccer | OneFootball

First, the dream came true. Lionel Messi, the world's greatest soccer player, announced on June 7, 2023, that he would leave Europe to join the David Beckham project at Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami.

Then the frenzy. Messi's pink Inter Miami jersey topped kit sales worldwide, Apple TV Plus added 300,000 new subscriptions to its MLS Season Pass package (which broadcast all Major League Soccer matches behind a separate paywall within the Apple TV+ platform until this season), and clubs began moving Inter Miami matches into larger venues to capitalize on the demand to see the Argentine World Cup hero.

At the same time, pundits began analyzing the move and predicting how it would impact "o jogo bonito" in the United States.

Now, Paul Tenorio of The Athletic has written one of the first definitive studies based on what's happened during Messi's three years in MLS.

On June 2, St. Martin's Press of New York released Tenorio's book, "The Messi Effect: How the Global Legend Changed the Future of American Soccer." He wrote a column about covering Messi that appeared in The Athletic on the same day.

In his column, Tenorio wrote that his book examines "the growth of American soccer, the creeping influence of the global football economy on the sport in North America and how Messi’s arrival impacted league stakeholders."

You see, "The Messi Effect" is not strictly about the man nicknamed "the Flea" -- la Pulga -- for his quickness on the ball and darting dribbles through defenders in the attack. Well more than 100 books have been written about Messi. This book describes a moment in American soccer and how Messi helped us reach it.

Sounder at Heart, a media outlet dedicated to the Seattle Sounders and the beautiful game more generally, published an excerpt from Tenorio's book that encapsulates the thesis: Messi's arrival is forcing MLS to make decisions some owners might like to avoid.

Messi's boss, friend and future Inter Miami co-owner, David Beckham, caused a similar stir when he arrived at the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. (Beckham and co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas agreed to give Messi a stake in the club as part of the deal that brought Messi to Miami.)

Soccer legend David Beckham's signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 foreshadowed Lionel Messi's signing with Inter Miami, the MLS club co-owned by the English star. | Matthew Ashton - AMA/GettyImages

"Not since David Beckham arrived ... had the world so intently focused its attention on American domestic soccer. And, like when Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy from Real Madrid, the league was facing a pivotal period," Tenorio wrote in his column.

"Beckham arrived just a few years after MLS considered filing bankruptcy. The decision to create a 'designated player rule' would shape the next decade-plus of MLS. Messi’s arrival promised to deliver similar change."

For more about Beckham -- whose move to MLS led directly to the existence of Inter Miami, and his influence on American soccer -- check out "The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America," by the late, great soccer writer Grant Wahl.