When the Lionel Messi circus comes to town, MLS teams need a bigger tent

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BALTIMORE — Messi League Soccer — or Major League Soccer, as it shall again be known when the Argentine maestro heads home someday — barnstormed into a new big top Saturday.

Inter Miami is Cirque de Soleil with a supernatural ringmaster sent to charm audiences outside the regular tour stops with unrivaled performance art.

Lionel Messi is MLS’ — and the sport’s — greatest attraction, and so this offseason it was off to Peru, Colombia and Ecuador for friendlies and, two weeks ago, a one-night stint in Puerto Rico marred by an invading fan and a security officer knocking down the superstar.

The season opener at Los Angeles FC was relocated from tidy BMO Stadium across the park to the vast Coliseum.

For a nervy 2-1 victory Saturday, Inter Miami hit Inner Harbor to play D.C. United, which sacrificed home-pitch advantage for an NFL stadium 37 miles north to sell 3 1/2 times more tickets than it would have at Audi Field.

Thousands of Messi gawkers among the announced sellout of 72,026 at M&T Bank Stadium — there were a few thousand empty seats — helped offset United’s 2025 attendance plunge and underwhelming turnout for the 2026 home opener two weeks ago.

Moving to a larger location was good business — no argument there — but it also gave off carnival vibes. Three decades since its launch, MLS remains a thirsty operation reliant on Messi and other big names late in their careers for attention outside the league bubble. From a competitive standpoint, United wasn’t doing its team any favors; it was all about revenue and marketing.

Miami welcomed the pink-clad support.

“It's definitely nice to be able to go to away stadiums and know you probably have more supporters than the actual home team sometimes,” goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair said. “Obviously that won't be the case in every single stadium, but I think it was definitely the case tonight.”

Reigning MLS MVP and MLS Cup champion Lionel Messi continues to be a huge draw wherever Inter Miami plays.Patrick Smith via Getty Images

At the center of it was Messi, who goes where he is told, probably without the slightest idea where Baltimore is or why he’s there.

He did know where he was Thursday: at the White House, at a time of war, shaking hands with the FIFA Peace Prize recipient, President Donald Trump, at a ceremony honoring the reigning MLS Cup champions.

By all accounts, Messi is not a political person, but he has stepped into sticky situations before as a well-paid Saudi tourism ambassador. The White House invitation was extended to Inter Miami, not Messi himself, but given Messi’s outsized influence at the club and in the league, he and his handlers could’ve quietly discouraged it.

Messi is so popular and his brand so secure, though, the potential damage of appearing with a polarizing political figure probably won’t amount to much before his expected World Cup farewell this summer across North America.

The White House visit wasn’t without awkwardness. As Trump spoke about the bombing of Iran, Messi, standing to the president’s right, shifted his weight back and forth, looked down and coughed nervously into his left hand.

Trump’s comments about soccer brought a smile to Messi’s face; he doesn’t speak English but clearly understands some. Later, he presented Trump with a commemorative pink ball.

President Donald Trump receives a soccer ball trophy from Lionel Messi during an event to honor the 2025 Major League Soccer champions Inter Miami in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Asked in his video call with reporters Friday about the White House visit, coach Javier Mascherano said in Spanish, “I thought we were going to talk about soccer.” He then explained the visit had been in place for a few months and followed protocol for a championship team.

St. Clair said Trump’s political rhetoric in front of the team was “definitely a little bit awkward … and kind of threw a lot of guys off, because it was supposed to be about the team and winning last year. … It's something that's out of our control, and we didn't know that was going to be a part of it as well.”

Last year, citing a scheduling conflict, Messi declined then-president Joe Biden’s invitation to the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

D.C. United is not the first team to try maximizing the Messi spectacle, though other efforts have come with controversy. Last year, the Columbus Crew angered many loyal supporters by moving its home match against Miami 150 miles north to Cleveland’s NFL stadium, where 60,614 tripled normal attendance. (The Haslem family owns both the Crew and Browns.)

“It was nice to have a game in front of so many spectators and in this beautiful stadium,” D.C. coach René Weiler said Saturday. “We prefer to have a good result at the end, but it was a nice atmosphere.”

Two years ago, Miami’s away match against Kansas City took place at Arrowhead Stadium (72,610), quadrupling Sporting Park’s 18,457 capacity.

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Messi promotions have also backfired. Last year, MLS and the Whitecaps faced a class-action lawsuit after pumping up an appearance that never came to fruition. Fans received steep discounts for food and drinks, and last week the British Columbia Supreme Court approved a $329,000 settlement.

Two years ago, when Messi injured an ankle six weeks before a scheduled appearance at Soldier Field, the Chicago Fire scrambled by offering free tickets to a future game that season and discounted seats the following year, if he didn’t play. (He didn’t play.)

D.C. fans have never seen Messi at Audi Field. His 2023 MLS debut fell just after Miami’s lone visit to Washington, and he was injured in subsequent years. In assembling this year’s schedule, United not only passed over its own 20,000-capacity venue in the city, but Northwest Stadium, the unappealing home to the NFL’s Washington Commanders, located a few miles east of the city.

The crowd of 75,673 at the Coliseum on Feb. 21 was the second largest for a standalone match in league history, behind the LAFC-L.A. Galaxy derby at the Rose Bowl (82,110) in 2023. Most fans this year supported the home team, not Miami.

Next month, Miami’s match in Denver will take place at the NFL venue instead of the small MLS park.

In Baltimore, ticket prices were considerably higher than for a common match at Audi Field, and the cheapest seats on the resale market still available before kickoff started at $78.65 for the corner of the upper deck.

The crowd was a blend of those wanting to see Messi and Miami, those supporting D.C., and those interested in attending a big event. On a backdrop of the Ravens’ purple seats, United’s black and red mixed with Miami’s pink.

The visiting team has been neither fazed nor emboldened by the larger-than-normal crowds.

“The people outside, they can make some noise,” Mascherano said, “but they don't play.”

Given the proximity to Washington, United should have enjoyed more support. But after years of D.C. ownership neglect and bad-to-bland performances, the stadium looked and sounded like a neutral venue.

Miami went ahead in the 17th minute, courtesy of a D.C. blunder. Lucas Bartlett coughed up possession at the end line to Germán Berterame, who supplied Telasco Segovia, who found Rodrigo De Paul for a neat, 12-yarder.

“It was a gift, the first goal,” Weiler said. “That was not expected, but maybe [D.C. was] a little bit nervous because of the atmosphere, the spectators in the stadium and, of course, the opponent.”

Ten minutes later, Messi timed his run behind Bartlett to latch onto Mateo Silvetti’s lovely ball and one-time an 8-yarder past helpless goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

Aside from an overhead kick by D.C.’s Louis Munteanu that missed by a whisker, the second half trudged along without superlatives or suspense until the 75th minute.

Miami’s sloppiness gifted a counterattack to United. St. Clair’s diving save thwarted Jackson Hopkins, but Tai Baribo cleaned up the rebound.

United hummed with confidence, while Miami’s suspect defense found itself under duress. Given the gap between the clubs, it was an unexpected development, indeed.

"The feeling of not controlling the game is unusual for us because we usually do,” Mascherano said. “When we don't, you can see we're displeased."

De Paul squandered a golden opportunity to seal the outcome. Messi kept going until the final whistle. The star-struck portion of the audience seemed satisfied.

Miami’s — and Messi’s — work was done here, albeit with some discomfort. The show goes on.

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