Shock and awe: Twitter reacts to Messi joining Inter Miami

Messi mood pic.twitter.com/ZtpACKkqmD

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 7, 2023

We were *this* close to seeing Phil Neville coach Lionel Messi.

— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) June 7, 2023

MLS managers realizing they’re about to trot out a 28 year old 2nd year player out of college soccer making $82,000 per year against Lionel Messi pic.twitter.com/m7A5YZzLZo

— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) June 6, 2023

February: Apple TV pays $2.5 billion for MLS broadcast rights

June: Messi signs for Inter Miami

Tim Cook always knows
pic.twitter.com/1yLNbxSpLu

— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) June 7, 2023

Inter Miami now have the opportunity to do one of the funniest things in football history.

Hire Big Sam

— Graham Ruthven (@grahamruthven) June 7, 2023

Feels bigger than Schweinsteiger to Chicago

— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) June 7, 2023

You have to wonder if Barcelona and/or Saudi could still turn this whole thing around by showing Messi a list of the flight times between various M.L.S. cities and south Florida.

— Andrew Das (@AndrewDasNYT) June 7, 2023

Inter Miami has added 1 million Instagram followers today.

The team's audience has literally doubled since this morning. pic.twitter.com/fpnsOZWG0N

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 7, 2023

Tickets for the Inter Miami vs. LAFC match on 9/3 have already increased from $81 to $422, per @TickPick.

That's the Messi effect 📈 pic.twitter.com/kGs7JOFgej

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 7, 2023

Lionel Messi will be the first World Cup Golden Ball winner to play in the MLS.

Messi will also join Kaká, Hristo Stoichkov and Lothar Matthäus as the only Ballon d'Or winners to play in the MLS. pic.twitter.com/7CwdICHMwi

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 7, 2023

💔 - Lionel Messi🇦🇷 (704) and Cristiano Ronaldo🇵🇹 (701) have scored a combined total of 1,405 goals in all competitions for European clubs. Now, the Messi - Ronaldo era in Europe🇪🇺 has come to an end. #Messi #MLS

— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) June 7, 2023

Lionel Messi picked Inter Miami and MLS over a billion dollars (!!!) over two years in Saudi Arabia. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/vIU7WOKPtl

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) June 7, 2023

100th - Lionel Messi's performance in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season ranked near the best among all forwards in possession and attacking in the top 5 European leagues in the last 15 seasons, including in the 100th percentile in chances created and touches. Level. pic.twitter.com/zm2Fw4RM4i

— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) June 7, 2023

Lionel Messi has scored more league goals in Europe's big five divisions leagues than any other player in the competitions' history.

◎ 578 games
◉ 496 goals
◎ 222 assists

Bienvenido a Miami. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/cNCug25R4U

— Squawka (@Squawka) June 7, 2023

David Beckham's move to MLS is one of the best sports business deals ever:

• Earned $255M over 5 years
• Purchased Inter Miami for $25M
• Inter Miami is valued at $600M

And now they have Lionel Messi, which will push the club's valuation toward ~$1 billion.

Incredible 🤯 pic.twitter.com/BthRt6E4f9

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 7, 2023