ATLANTA — International soccer writer Guillem Balague reported Wednesday morning that Lionel Messi - arguably the greatest footballer of all time - will make Miami his next move.
Neither Major League Soccer nor the 35-year-old have made an official announcement, but Balague's report has already sent major waves through the American soccer fan community.
That includes skyrocketing prices for Atlanta United's September 16 match against Inter Miami, the MLS team Messi would join, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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That includes:
- On Atlanta United's official Ticketmaster page, match tickets for the general admission Supporters Section are $239 at the cheapest, and $300+ for all but a couple spare assigned seat tickets.
By comparison, this Saturday's game against DC United has tickets available starting at $30.
One 11Alive employee who bought tickets for the match before the report Wednesday said he was able to get tickets for about $112 before taxes and fees.
After the report, on secondary sites they go for a little bit cheaper - but still eye-popping prices and rising:
- On StubHub, the cheapest seats as of noon Wednesday are for just under $200 in the Supporters Section and $205 for assigned seats.
- On Seat Geek, the cheapest was at $182 for the Supporters Section and $187 for assigned seats.
- On Vivid Seats, $181 for Supporters Section and $198 for assigned seats were the cheapest prices.
Messi's move comes after a two-season stay with Paris Saint-Germain and, before that, a decorated and legendary career at Barcelona. He had been rumored to be considering a return to Barcelona or a lucrative offer to go to Saudi Arabia, comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo's recent move.
Messi secured a legacy-defining World Cup victory with the Argentina national team in December, as well.
If the Inter Miami move does come to fruition, it could pit him in September against his Argentina teammate Thiago Almada, the dynamic young Atlanta United star.