Messi mania highlights 'epic' year for MLS, Garber says

LOS ANGELES : Lionel Messi's arrival in the U.S. this year helped Major League Soccer shatter attendance records at home while elevating its profile abroad, commissioner Don Garber told Reuters.

"His impact has been unimaginable," Garber said in an interview on the same day Messi was named Time's Athlete of the Year for 2023.

"We are now not just part of the global conversation, but one of the biggest stories in global football. The eyes of the world are now on Major League Soccer because the best player in the game is here and succeeding."

After leading Argentina to a World Cup triumph last December, Messi sent North American ticket prices into the stratosphere when he spurned a lucrative offer from Saudi side Al-Hilal to join last-place Inter Miami.

He made an immediate impact, scoring a jaw-dropping game-winning goal in his July debut and Messi mania went into overdrive as he racked up 10 goals in seven Leagues Cup matches to lead the club to their first trophy.

"You couldn't have scripted the Leagues Cup performance any better," Garber said.

MLS, which wraps up its season with the MLS Cup on Saturday, enjoyed its biggest audiences ever, with nearly 11 million fans attending matches, about a 5 per cent increase year over year, Morning Consult said in a report released Friday.

Messi's splashy arrival especially helped boost the league's popularity among the coveted millennial audience, making it the seventh fastest growing brand among the group, the research firm said.

Garber said he was also "very pleased" with the first year of the 10-year, $2.5 billion global media rights deal with Apple, a sentiment echoed by Apple CEO Tim Cook on a recent earnings call.

"The metrics on and off the field have been spectacular," Garber