The mania surrounding Lionel Messi's impending arrival stateside has reached unprecedented levels of late and tickets for his debut are now on sale for eye-watering prices.
The Argentinian football legend stunned the world when he announced that he would be moving the MLS to join Inter Miami this summer, with David Beckham fighting off the likes of Barcelona for his signature. Given the 35-year-old's achievements in the game, it has become clear that the country has been swept along with the excitement of welcoming such an iconic name to the US.
The World Cup winner's announcement has led to an unprecedented clamour for tickets, with all seats for away fixtures Miami having sold out within hours of news of the deal. Although superstars have played in the league down the years, the fanfare that has accompanied Messi's upcoming move has captured imaginations in a way the league has not seen.
To put the player's popularity into some context, Atlanta United will open up an upper tier of their stadium to cope with the demand for tickets, increasing the capacity of their ground up to its 71,000-seater maximum.
In addition, Charlotte FC sold an incredible 10,000 tickets in the space of just three hours after the announcement. Now, resale prices have reached monumental heights, with some second-hand tickets for Messi's debut now listed from $810 (£639) up to staggering $20,701 (£16,300) on StubHub at the start of the week.
Although Messi will officially sign for the club on July 4, it is expected that his first game will come later in the month in a Leagues Cup clash versus Cruz Azul on July 21, with demand for tickets to see this landmark game having risen by an enormous 1,034 per cent. On top of this, the re-sale prices for away tickets have also soared exponentially, with The Miami Herald reporting that there has been an increase of some 1000 per cent since Messi's deal was announced.
Intriguingly, Inter Miami have not yet listed single-game tickets for their home dates from July 1, which was a decision made by the club prior to the announcement of Messi's transfer. What is expected is that the South Beach franchise will make adjustments to their temporary stadium to try and cope with demand for seats.
Currently a 17,000 seater ground, the capacity of DRV PNK Stadium is to be increased by some 3,000 in the coming months to help cope with the increased clamour for tickets. The club's current home will eventually be replaced in 2025 by a $1 billion (£789,475,000) project which will include a 25,000 seater stadium as well as community and leisure facilities.
As it stands, however, concerns abound over the ground's suitability to deal with the demands, with the club's own goalkeeper having expressed his opinion that the club is ill-prepared for Messi's arrival. Former Feyenoord stopper Nick Marsman has welcomed the news of the transfer but has acknowledged that improvements to the stadium are a neccessity.
He previously told ESPN: "Personally I think that the club is not ready for the arrival of Messi. We have a temporary stadium, people can enter the field, we go to the stadium without security."
