MLS commissioner says 2023 was undeniably the Year of Lionel Messi
The 2023 MLS season was undeniably the year of Lionel Messi.
The World Cup champion and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner arrived at Inter Miami this summer and changed the league. Sales of pink No. 10 jerseys spiked, subscriptions to MLS games on Apple TV surged and ticket prices for his games reached unheard-of levels.
"I think history will look back at 2023 as the year of Messi, but from my perspective, it was perhaps the most spectacular year in our history, for a variety of reasons, and Lionel Messi took it to a level that probably was hard to imagine," commissioner Don Garber said during an interview on the state of the league.
The 36-year-old Messi had 11 goals and eight assists in 14 games across all competitions for Inter Miami. He helped the team secure a trophy in the first Leagues Cup competition with Liga MX.
Across the league, attendance went up 5% overall, and Inter Miami saw more than a 35% jump. Miami has already sold out its 2024 tickets — with another draw in Uruguay's Luis Suarez rumored to be on the way.
Garber said there were other reasons this was a transformative year in MLS, pointing to the league's momentum coming off the World Cup in Qatar last December, the success of expansion St. Louis City, a new media rights deal with Apple TV, and the playoff format.
Add to that this Saturday's MLS Cup final between LAFC and the Columbus Crew.
"And then to cap it all off, Messi comes to Miami and overdelivered on so many different levels on the field and off the field, and really delivered on this concept that MLS can be the league of choice for the best players in the world," Garber said.
Garber wouldn't bite on a question about Suarez, but he did express frustration with recent reports that Messi referred to MLS as a "minor" league, saying part of the confusion was a translation issue.
"[Messi] understands that MLS is a different league and on a different level than La Liga. There's no arguing that," Garber said. "That empowers us to continue to do the work we need to do to continue to be one of the top leagues in the world."
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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