“Bigger than anyone could have imagined” - Ex-Premier League star lavishes praise on Lionel Messi impact in MLS

Brad Friedel has hailed the impact of Lionel Messi on MLS. He claims that the Argentine has brought eyeballs to the league and increased Inter Miami's shirt sales.

Speaking to LiveScore, Friedel stated that the TV revenue and stadium collection have skyrocketed as fans want to watch the Inter Miami star live in action. He added that MLS sides are now being invited for friendlies, saying:

"I'll put it to you this way, their stadium is up in Fort Lauderdale, they're building a new one in Miami at the moment. But generally, you wouldn't have really known there was an MLS team here because everything was out of the city in Fort Lauderdale.

"But the second Messi signed, his face was everywhere, pink Inter Miami shirts were everywhere and on billboards. The impact has been enormous."

He added:

"The impact for Apple TV has been enormous, the impact in all the stadiums he travels to has been enormous. Just look at the pre-season tour, they're getting invited to go play in El Salvador, then they're going to Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia.

"MLS teams don't usually get invited to games like that. The impact is enormous, probably bigger than anyone could have imagined."

Messi joined Inter Miami in the summer after his contract at PSG expired. He had offers from Al Hilal and Barcelona but chose to move to the American side.

---

Geoff Cameron hails impact of Lionel Messi on MLS

Former USA international Geoff Cameron has claimed that Lionel Messi saved MLS by joining Inter Miami. He stated that the Argentine has increased the viewership and said on talkSPORT:

"The impact he has had so far has been astronomical. The owners, I'm sure, are all happy. [With] the Apple deal, I think he saved the league, essentially [because] the subscribers and viewership was a bit down and they really wanted to push and people know what Messi brings.

"Now Messi's coming here to the States, what his viewership [brings] and what he's accomplished just raises the level here in MLS."

Messi and co are in action on Monday night against Al Hilal in a club friendly. They are gearing up for the new MLS season, which starts in less than a month.