Lionel Messi, universally renowned soccer player, relocated to Miami, Florida when his soccer contract in France expired after two years of playing for Paris Saint-Germain. Messi is now 36 years old, reaching the end of his soccer career, and has decided to play for Inter Miami, a team who was in need of victory after 10 defeated tournaments in a row. 

Messi’s arrival flipped the team’s luck and is now in a position to satisfy his fans and triumph with his 

team. Soccer fans across South Florida are looking forward to the future of a Messi-dominated Miami club, and new spectators are starting to take a closer look. 

 “I think the biggest change is just the amount of attention that his presence, his playing for a Major League Soccer club, has brought to the sport in the United States,” Micah Kossove, school media specialist said. “He’s like the Da Vinci of soccer.”

Camila Tardio, a seventh grade theater major, feels that Messi’s current residency in Miami provides people with a time to spend quality time with family and friends while watching Messi play. 

“I’m looking forward to spending time with my family and seeing Messi win as he and his team progress as they enter higher-level tournaments,” Tardio said.

Kossove expresses a fondness for soccer and Messi, and he thinks a soccer player of  his caliber, who chose to attend the Inter Miami soccer team, is unprecedented, “as he is literally the best player in the world in soccer.” 

Other fans, like Alex Franco, a sixth grade theater major, are excited to see their local team have a better chance at winning. Franco is a huge fan of Messi’s technique and footwork on the field. 

“His performance is great and his technique is great. I think the team will have a great chance of winning the Major League Soccer,” Franco said. 

Outside of soccer, Messi owns and shares several businesses across the world, and locals express hopes that he will do the same for Florida. 

“I hope that he has a financial claim in creating businesses in the Miami area and creating an international soccer hub in the middle of Miami, including academies and schools for kids to attend, not just to go to school, but train professionally, which would be super phenomenal,” Kossove said.

Messi’s residency in Miami presents new opportunities for surrounding businesses to prosper. 

“Messi’s presence in Miami is very beneficial for Apple and MLS altogether because all of these businesses are basically making a ton of money off of Messi’s presence and genius,” Kossove said.

Messi has a tremendous amount of fans and it’s expected he’ll  receive more in the future. Fans anticipate more opportunities to surface for Messi.