Apple’s Billionaire CEO Tim Cook ‘Excited’ After $600,000,000 Rich Miami Superstar Helped ‘Beat Expectations’ From $2.5 Billion Deal With MLS

Soccer fans brace up, as there’s another addition to the Lionel Messi mania. And this time, it isn’t any athlete but $1.9 billion worth, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. The former right-hand man of co-founder Steve Jobs is delighted to see the impact Lionel Messi has had on MLS since his Inter Miami announcement. Moreover, the Argentine helped the Silicon Valley firm to exceed its targets.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is an invaluable asset to the sport. With over 481 million Instagram followers, expectations were high. And the transfer lived up to the expectations. His announcement sold out tickets for Vice City’s away games within hours. And after a slow start, Apple is experiencing the advantages of Messi’s swashbuckling start. 

Apple is thrilled to have $600 million worth of Lionel Messi in the MLS

The Silicon Valley firm recently announced its quarterly results. Its focus was on the MLS season passes. A few days back, there were rumors of Apple ready to back out of the $2.5 billion MLS deal for ten years, which started this February. But the moment Lionel Messi landed in the US, things changed. And Tim Cook has a scintillating update.  

Speaking to analysts during Apple’s quarterly earnings call for the three months ending July 1, Cook gave a significant update. He said, “We are excited about our MLS partnership, and we are thrilled to see Messi suiting up with Inter Miami. It’s clearly in the early days, but we are beating our expectations in terms of subscribers, and the fact that Messi went to Inter Miami helped us out there a bit, and so we are very excited about it.”

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The Argentine’s presence seems to have convinced many fans to purchase the season passes, helping the Silicon Valley giants to exceed targets. The season pass costs the subscribers $13 a month and $15 a month for non-subscribers. Meanwhile, this update will help Messi to fill his pockets even further.

Messi’s pockets getting bigger

As part of the Inter Miami deal, the former FC Barcelona superstar would get profit shares from Apple and Adidas. Now, with Apple exceeding the targets after his arrival, the share increases for the Argentine. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas recently hinted at the Apple deal in an interview with Spanish media El Pais. 

It comes as an enormous update for US soccer, too. With COPA America scheduled a next year in the country and the 2026 FIFA World Cup in three years, American soccer can get the much-needed boost. It will be interesting to see how MLS and US soccer takes this opportunity.

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Do you think Messi’s arrival will completely change US soccer and MLS?