Inter Miami sees big boost with addition of Lionel Messi

Currently sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, Inter Miami FC got some big news on Wednesday morning regarding the future of their team.

Global superstar Lionel Messi will be joining Inter Miami, choosing to play in the United States over returning to Spain’s Barcelona and turning down an offer from Saudi Arabia, in a deal where he’d make hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

The seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or award as the world’s top men’s player and a three-time winner of FIFA’s player of the year played his last game with PSG on June 3.

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While a potential timeline on when he would make his MLS debut hasn’t been finalized, Messi has significantly moved Inter Miami’s 2023 MLS Cup odds at BetMGM.

While Los Angeles FC, who beat the Philadelphia Union in the 2022 Cup Final last year, remains the favorite at +350, Inter Miami is starting to creep up the odds boards.

Odds are courtesy of BetMGM, current as of the time of writing and subject to change.

With odds as high as 200/1 with a 5-0-11 record so far during the 2023 season, Inter Miami’s odds are now down to 18/1 odds at BetMGM, the lowest of the three major sportsbooks (+3000 at Caesars, +2700 at FanDuel).

It’s a significant shift even from a few weeks ago, when Inter Miami was 50/1 to win the MLS Cup at BetMGM and receiving four percent of the tickets and three percent of the betting handle. Now, have the seventh best odds in the MLS to win the cup.

Inter Miami has plenty of work to do to get out of the cellar of the Eastern Conference, but it’s clear Messi’s move to the MLS is already attracting plenty of buzz and betting action.

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