THE INTER MIAMI HAS AGREED WITH THE $150m DEAL WITH…

Royal Caribbean ($RCL) has become Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami’s new front-of-shirt sponsor, according to people close to the agreement who asked to remain anonymous due to the private nature of the situation.

The deal’s financials were not disclosed. Inter Miami’s spokesperson declined to comment. Sportico asked Royal Caribbean for a comment, but they never got back to him.

The cruise liner declared on Wednesday that Lionel Messi will serve as the official symbol of its newest vessel, the Icon of the Seas. In January 2024, Messi will take part in the naming ceremony for the biggest cruise ship in the world. This announcement follows the multiyear partnership agreement that Royal Caribbean and Inter Miami signed in August, designating the cruise line as the club’s Main Partner and Official Vacation Partner. The business made no mention of the jersey at the time.

According to the league, Inter Miami has had a shirt sponsor agreement with the cryptocurrency company XBTO for the past two years. This was the first cryptofinance partnership agreement in Major League Soccer and one of the biggest agreements at the time.

Inter Miami has experienced a rebirth both on and off the field since Messi inked a two-and-a-half year contract with the team in June. Through corporate partnerships and ticket sales, the team’s revenue has increased. Xavier Asensi, the club’s chief business officer, previously revealed to Sportico that the team included Messi clauses in a number of its current sponsorship agreements, including the one with XBTO. To take advantage of Messi’s availability, Inter Miami also purposefully allowed several contracts to expire at the end of this year.

Sportico calculated that the team would bring in $54 million in revenue in 2022. According to Asensi, Inter Miami anticipates making $200 million in revenue in 2024. Sportico valued Inter Miami at $585 million last year, which was the tenth-highest amount in the league.

Within 45 minutes of going on sale, Messi’s Inter Miami jersey, according to MLS, became the league’s most-sold item for 2023. It also broke the record for the most money a club made on MLSStore.com in a single year and became the most-sold jersey in the site’s history, which dates back to 2015.

Despite finishing 14th out of 29 teams in the league, Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup.