Soccer superstar Lionel Messi's move to the U.S. is a big win for Apple; here's why

South Florida is the current focus of the sports world. The Florida Panthers hockey team barely made the playoffs, shocked the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round, defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, and swept the Carolina Hurricanes to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Miami Heat also took a similar route to the NBA Finals by upsetting the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, beating the New York Knicks in the second round, and stunning the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Miami Marlins are also showing some life and are battling the Atlanta Braves for the National East title in Major League Baseball and if the season ended today, the team would be one of the three wild card squads to make the playoffs in the NL. That's pretty heady stuff for South Florida sports fans, but on the international stage, nothing tops the decision made by soccer (excuse me, football) star Lionel Messi to join MLS team InterMiami. It feels like LeBron taking his talents to South Beach all over again.

While we are not a sports publication, let me just add that we have seen this story before when Pele joined the New York Cosmos in 1975 and put soccer on the map in New York where the Cosmos would sell out Giants Stadium and 75,000 attended Pele's last professional game. But outside of New York, NASL (North American Soccer League) attendance was poor and once Pele retired, attendance declined even though the Cosmos had other international stars including Giorgio Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer. The league disbanded not too long after Pele hung up his spikes.

But this time, things could be different as Apple will play a big part in selling Messi, InterMiami, MLS (Major League Soccer), and soccer to the U.S. Per The Verge, Apple has the streaming rights to MLS for the next 10 years. This technology was not available during the Cosmos' heyday. Messi, who just won a World Cup with Argentina, is the type of superstar that Apple can exploit to whip up demand for MLS Season Pass subscriptions which it offers through Apple TV+.

And kicking off Messimania in the U.S., Apple will show a four-part documentary on the star which will stream over Apple TV+. Speaking of Messi and Apple TV+, reportedly the forward will get a piece of Apple's partnership with MLS.

If you are a soccer/football fan or are interested in becoming one, the MLS Season Pass does offer every MLS and League Cup game. You can sign up for MLS Season Pass without having an Apple TV+ subscription for $14.99 per month or $49 for the rest of this season. If you pay the $6.99 per month for Apple TV+ (after a seven-day free trial), you can get an MLS Season Pass subscription for a discounted $12.99 per month or $39 for the remainder of this season.

Will Messi and Apple be able to finish the job that Pele and the Cosmos started in the mid to late 70s? Messi is a name that U.S. sports fans are familiar with and the original Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso has been very popular. In fact, Apple has started selling Ted Lasso merchandise. The show is about a U.S. college football coach who is hired to coach a professional soccer club in England. The cross-promotional opportunities for Apple here are tremendous. Messi's former manager made a guest appearance on Ted Lasso last season.

If there is a fourth season of Ted Lasso, we wouldn't be surprised to see Lionel Messi show up in at least one episode. Lionel Messi's move to MLS should make soccer more popular in the U.S. and with Apple's help, the sport could take a huge step forward in America. And Apple will also profit (of course) from the increased attention on MLS in the states.