South Florida has a new sport king — Lionel Messi. International celebrities keep buying properties in Florida and going on vacations there because of the level of anonymity that one can achieve here. But Messi went the extra mile to make this his home for a few years by joining Inter Miami CF over a reportedly more lucrative deal in Saudi Arabia. Of course, it helps that over the weekend Inter Miami beat Nashville SC 10-9 in a shootout in the Leagues Cup final with Messi scoring for the 10th time in seven games since joining the team.
All this means a great deal for Apple TV, which has made some carefully-calculated moves in the past few years. First, it joined the movie and TV show streaming arena and then slowly, live sports. Last year, Apple and Major League Soccer inked a deal worth at least $2.5 billion to broadcast games on the tech giant’s streaming service. Apple now has MLS streaming rights for the next decade. It’s one of the most significant deals for an American sports league to move all of its games to a streaming service, rather than sticking to cable or broadcast TV.
By joining Inter Miami, Messi has made the Apple TV MLS Season Pass subscription appealing globally to audiences who might otherwise be focused on the big leagues in Europe.
Coming to Miami was a “family decision, trying to look for the family good”, the 36-year-old has said. For him, “happiness has always been playing soccer and being able to have fun with what I liked since I was little and what I’ve enjoyed all my life”.
Messi told Tony Cherchi on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV: “I think I can continue doing it here, it was one of the reasons why I made this decision. To return to enjoy what had been lost a little. My trips to the national team were my happiest moments because I enjoyed the game I was playing and my teammates, I wanted to come here to find the same thing... and thank God I found it. My happiness is to be happy on the pitch, to be happy with a ball and to enjoy every day. And then to see my family well, that is fundamental. Being well... they and I enjoying the day-to-day, there is little left to ask for.”
‘I don’t want to regret anything’
Apple has been diving deep into the world of football of late. Before the MLS deal came to light, Apple TV+ gave the world Ted Lasso, one of the biggest streaming hits of all-time. The show follows an American college football coach who is hired to coach an English football team and he ends up winning hearts with his optimistic leadership.
In June, Apple announced that it would air a four-part docuseries on Messi on Apple TV+. This will follow the giant’s World Cup career culminating in his win at Qatar last year. There is now a second docuseries in the works. The new six-part untitled six-part documentary will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Messi as he arrived in America to play for MLS and Inter Miami CF, chronicling his debut in Leagues Cup and beyond.
Speaking about what the future holds, he said on MLS Season Pass: “If I’m honest, as I told you before, I like to play... be with a ball on the pitch, compete, practice. I don’t know how much more I’m going to play but I’ll try to take advantage of it as long as I can, until I’m fine and then I’ll see. There is time to analyse, think and choose. Today, the most important thing is to enjoy what remains, whatever it is, little or much, enjoy it to the fullest as I am doing at this moment... and enjoy every moment because this is not coming back and I don’t want to regret anything.”
Since Messi arrived, there has been a craze around football in South Florida, boosting business for local bars and restaurants where people watch the sport. Resale tickets for home games are fetching astonishing prices. South Florida hasn’t seen such a craze since NBA star LeBron James played for the Miami Heat almost a decade ago. Forget Barbie, pink is the colour in vogue in Miami because of the jersey Messi sports.
Speaking about his evolution and experiencing highs and lows throughout his career, Messi told MLS Season Pass: “A lot of things happened to me along the way... not only that in the national team but in my own teams like Barcelona and Paris, where I had difficult times... and that’s where you have to learn and get the most positive things of hard moments, of defeats. That makes a person grow. It is much more difficult to analyse in the joys than in the defeats. In the joys, everything is very beautiful and you don’t realise anything, from the defeats you can get positive things that can help you (prepare) for the future and grow a lot.”
Drake Callender, the goalkeeper for Inter Miami, has a lot to say about Messi’s impact. He said on Offside with Taylor Twellman Podcast (episode five; on Apple Podcast): “It’s still unreal to see and just to watch from the angle that I have. It’s just amazing what he’s able to do and what he’s able to produce. He’s been a leader. He’s been a great attribute to our team.”
Needless to say, things will remain like this for years because the Pink Goat (Inter Miami’s team colours and Messi’s status as the ‘greatest of all time’) will keep scoring goals for Inter Miami CF.
Football fans can watch Lionel Messi and others with MLS Season Pass Apple
Do you want to catch the action?
Where can you watch MLS Season Pass?
You can watch MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, which is on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and on smart TVs, streaming devices, games consoles and set-top boxes. You can also watch MLS Season Pass on the web at tv.apple.com/sports, including on Android, Windows PC and Chrome OS devices.
How to watch a live match?
Open the Apple TV app or go to tv.apple.com/sports.
If prompted, sign in with your Apple ID and password.
Go to Watch Now and scroll down to Channels, or go to Search.
Select MLS Season Pass.
Select a game, then select Watch.
Pricing
Fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app for Rs 1,299 per month during the season or Rs 7,900 per season, and Apple TV+ subscribers can sign up at a special price of Rs 1,199 per month or Rs 6,900 per season. Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share the subscription using their own Apple ID and password.