Black and pink jerseys, 15 million Instagram followers, and the recent winners of the Leagues Cup in Major League Soccer. The rapid success of the American professional soccer club Inter Miami CF is largely due to the arrival of Lionel Messi, the world’s most-decorated soccer player. With his transition to the club from his former club Paris Saint-Germain, students are feeling the ‘Messi Effect’ even here in Virginia.
“It’s just the whole talk. Now people are saying the MLS is a thing now,” senior Benjamin Maxwell said.
Derived from the ‘Ronaldo Effect,’ when Cristiano Ronaldo signed to Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr, Messi’s move to Miami has boosted the club’s reputation and viewership, along with that of the entire MLS league. When Ronaldo made his move, Al-Nassr’s Instagram page went from 860,000 followers to 10 million almost overnight, and other players like Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and Neymar followed the superstar to the Saudi league shortly thereafter. Now double the numbers: that’s the Messi effect.
Deep Run is home to many who enjoy soccer. Whether it’s playing the sport, or watching it, there’s no shortage of footballers in Deep Run’s community.
Freshman Noorulhaq Fnu was born in Afghanistan and has grown up both playing soccer and watching it. Fnu has been watching Messi since he played with Barcelona FC, his former club. As someone who’s looked up to Messi from such a young age, Fnu has witnessed Messi get better and better over the years. Now he’s seeing the Messi effect firsthand, but that’s not without some discontent.
“I got a little upset that he didn’t go back to Barcelona,” said Fnu.
But Fnu understands that Messi’s contract in Miami was well-deserved.
“He deserves to go to Inter because Messi’s technically won all of soccer. He’s won just about every trophy,” Fnu said.
While Fnu and others may be focused on how the Messi effect is affecting Messi’s image, both as a player and a figure in the soccer world, other students are looking at Inter Miami’s future. Sophomore Santiago Ruiz is one of those more focused on how the entire MLS will be impacted by Messi. Ruiz has been a lifelong fan of Messi, having watched him prosper both in Barca and PSG. Ruiz sees Messi’s values around improving the sport worldwide reflected in his move to Miami.
“I believe he’s playing in Miami because he wants to make the MLS better and get more players,” Ruiz said.
Like many other fans, Maxwell dove further into the world of soccer after watching the 2022 Men’s World Cup. He feels confident that Messi is making one of the smartest moves in soccer history.
“After winning the World Cup and just about every major title, I believe that he’s the greatest he’s ever been,” Maxwell said.
Although the MLS season is winding to a close, the Messi effect is still in full swing, and with the 2026 World Cup in Canada, America, and Mexico, no one in the 804 is safe from Lionel’s storm.
