Lionel Messi's 'Revolutionary' Rumored Move to MLS' Inter Miami Has Fans Hyped

More than a decade after the "Beckham Experiment" ended, MLS is reportedly repeating the formula.

Soccer insider Fabrizio Romano reported Wednesday that Lionel Messi has agreed to a contract with Inter Miami.

Guillem Balague of the BBC reported the agreement "includes collaboration from brands like Adidas and Apple." According to The Athletic's Paul Tenorio, Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer, Messi could potentially receive a share of revenue generated from new subscriptions to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+, and he was offered a "profit-sharing agreement" with Adidas.

As one would expect, social media was abuzz following the news.

A lot has changed within MLS since David Beckham signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, and that includes how the league is viewed outside of the United States.

But pulling out all the stops to attract Messi also shows how MLS is still fighting to be more relevant, both domestically and abroad.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of services, told reporters that MLS Season Pass was "certainly doing much better than we had forecasted" but declined to provide specific subscriber numbers.

The short-term commercial boost to MLS and its partners should be massive because Messi is one of the most well-known athletes in the world. It will be at least a few years before the full impact of his arrival is clear.