Lionel Messi's MLS games will be available to watch in England and he will get a huge cut of revenue
Topics: Lionel Messi, MLS, Inter Miami, United States
Josh Lawless
Featured Image Credit: Alamy & Twitter
Topics: Lionel Messi, MLS, Inter Miami, United States
Lionel Messi's pending MLS masterclasses for Inter Miami will be available to watch in England - and the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is set to profit hugely from the deal.
Although the deal has not been completely confirmed as a few final details need to be ironed out, the Argentina legend is leaving Paris Saint-Germain upon the expiration of his contract to join David Beckham's franchise.
Messi's deal at Inter, which is for two-and-a-half years, is said to be worth between $125 million and $150 million and makes him the league's highest-paid player by some distance.
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The 36-year-old is still technically a PSG player at present and will not make his debut for struggling Inter until July 21 against Mexican side Cruz Azul, as per owner Jorge Mas.
But when he does take to the MLS, all of Messi's games will accessible - not just in the States but across the globe.
That's because the league has a blockbuster $2.5 billion,10-year agreement with Apple, who are the only channel streaming MLS fixtures.
There's no geo-blocking restrictions as pretty much every country can watch all the action unfold as long as they have an MLS Season Pass.
Commentary is in English, Spanish and sometimes French for when the Canadian sides play, and the pass is £14.99 per month or £99 for the year.
However, anyone who already has a pre-existing Apple TV subscription can get it for the cheaper cost of £12.99 per month or £79 depending on the preferred plan.
Apple recently announced a four-part docuseries on Messi just a day before he confirmed he was heading to Miami.
And it's also emerged that Messi could be in line for a share of the revenue generated from the MLS season pass.
The Athletic say that very perk was discussed in contract negotiations and means Messi could rake in even more money from new subscribers.
Adidas, long-time sponsors of Messi and the MLS, is set to provide a profit-sharing agreement whereby Messi would receive a cut of any increase in the German sportswear brand's profits as a result of his involvement in MLS.