This week, Inter Miami signed an agreement with Nu Financial Services Company of Brazil. This unit will hold the right to name the team's new stadium near Miami International Airport.
Nu Stadium, a facility with a capacity of 26,700 seats currently under construction, is expected to host its first match on April 4.
The reason I need a sponsor and they must be world-class sponsors is because players are very expensive. We pay Messi - worth every penny - but that amount is up to 70 million to 80 million USD a year. Including everything," Jorge Mas told the US media.
Messi is the highest paid player in the US Major League Soccer (MLS), with a basic salary of 12 million USD and a guaranteed amount of over 20.4 million USD, according to the salary table announced by the MLS Players Association.
In addition, the Argentine star also benefits from other sources of income, such as advertising contracts with Adidas and revenue sharing agreements with tournament broadcasting partner Apple.
After joining Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, Messi signed a contract extension with Inter Miami in October last year, valid until the end of the 2028 season.
Xavier Asensi, Executive Business Chairman of Inter Miami, revealed that preparations to take advantage of the opportunity to recruit the player who has won the Ballon d'Or 8 times have begun long before Messi announced his intention to join the club.
He said: "The appearance of Lionel Messi is not accidental; behind it is a whole process, a strategy and a plan to turn that into reality. That is the American concept:'towards the best, but ready for the worst'.
A real example is when we signed the official jersey sponsorship agreement in 2021. I included a clause stipulating that if the club signs a player who has won at least five Golden Ball awards, the sponsorship cost will double.
Inter Miami's record contract with Messi is working. According to Sportico, this club is currently the most valuable team in the MLS, worth 1.45 billion USD. This source also said that the value of Inter Miami has increased by 22% in one year.
Leo has changed everything in a better direction. Since he came, we have reached the final of the US National Cup, won the League Cup, won the Super Cup, set a point record, won the right to participate in the Champions League, won the MLS Cup, reached the final of the League Cup again, reached the Champions League semi-finals and won the right to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup.
I think it is quite clear and obvious that Lionel's presence on the field, along with everything around him, has helped the club play better, and this is what I told you before: As a football club, we depend on what happens on the pitch," Xavier emphasized.
