Bloomberg — Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami are heading to New Jersey, and the mania surrounding the Argentine striker’s presence looks like ticket prices will be high.
Inter Miami play the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey, on August 26, but the cheapest single tickets on Friday were going for $496 on Ticketmaster, with some listed as high as $10,000.
By contrast, tickets for the Red Bulls match against DC United on Sunday were selling for as low as $10 each.
Tickets for Messi’s New York-area appearance are higher even than in his new home state of Florida. A single ticket for Miami’s home game against Nashville SC on August 30 ranged from $172 to $2,000.
Messi joined Inter Miami in July and scored his first goal for the club on July 21.
The surge in prices underscores the appeal of Messi, the 36-year-old Argentine superstar who led his national team to a World Cup victory last year. Dan Hunt, co-owner of the FC Dallas team, said the spillover effect of Messi moving to the US from Europe will spread across Major League Soccer, lifting club valuations and helping draw in talent. Inter Miami’s away match against FC Dallas earlier this month sold out in 10 minutes.
Followers of the Red Bulls are already girding for Messi fans to show up. The Viking Army, one of the team’s groups of vociferous supporters, on Thursday warned that “no Messi jerseys” will be allowed in the South Ward, the standing-only section behind the goal reserved for fans.
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