LAFC claims the top spot by fending off fast-growing Inter Miami, but overshadowing the soaring valuations are questions about Lionel Messi’s future and an underwhelming broadcast deal.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Today on Forbes, the most valuable MLS teams 2025.
00:07Moments after the Super Bowl ended earlier this month, Lionel Messi appeared on television
00:11screens across America alongside a message.
00:15Teasing the start of Major League Soccer's 30th season, which kicked off this past weekend,
00:20the Apple TV advertisement after the Super Bowl read, quote, when football ends, football
00:26begins.
00:28It's no surprise Messi was front and center in the league's marketing.
00:32Beyond leading Inter Miami to an MLS-record 74 regular season points last year and collecting
00:38MVP honors, the 37-year-old Argentine superstar is the financial engine supercharging his
00:44club's growth, to a league-leading $180 million in revenue and $50 million in operating income
00:51in 2024, according to Forbes estimates.
00:54The Messi effect has rippled across the rest of MLS as well.
00:58The league has more than doubled its subscriber count on Apple TV since he jumped from Paris
01:02Saint-Germain in 2023, and it saw a 13% bump in sponsorship revenue in 2024, to $665 million,
01:12according to research firm Sponsor United.
01:15And any club lucky enough to host Messi for a match, such as Sporting Kansas City, which
01:20moved its April 2024 match against Inter Miami to Arrowhead Stadium, and ended up with club
01:26record attendance of 72,610, can expect a massive gate revenue increase.
01:33But while the rising tide is lifting the whole league to an average value of $690 million,
01:39up 121% since 2019, it hasn't yet produced a change at the front of the fleet.
01:46For the third straight year, LAFC is MLS' most valuable team, worth an estimated $1.25
01:53billion, just ahead of No. 2 Inter Miami at $1.2 billion.
01:59The LA Galaxy, No. 3 at $1 billion, become the league's third team in the three-comma
02:05club.
02:07Rounding out the top five are No. 4 Atlanta United FC at $975 million, and No. 5 New York
02:15City FC at $875 million.
02:20LAFC has grown reliably each year, striking a 10-year, $100 million stadium naming rights
02:26deal six months before Messi's arrival, and cultivating an active schedule at its BMO
02:31Stadium, with concerts and other events.
02:34Still, with an estimated $150 million in 2024 revenue and $12 million in operating income,
02:41the club doesn't quite reach the financial heights of Inter Miami, which has doubled
02:45its valuation in just two years.
02:48So with Inter Miami's robust season ticket sales, a global preseason tour that stretched
02:53from El Salvador to Saudi Arabia, and a long list of new corporate partners, including
02:58Royal Caribbean, JPMorgan Chase, and Duracell, why isn't Messi's team MLS' most valuable?
03:05The answer comes down to an unresolved question, one that is also largely responsible for the
03:10league's growth slowdown to 5% after a 14% jump in the average team value in 2024.
03:17To put it simply, what is going to happen to Inter Miami's and MLS' finances when
03:23Messi leaves, whether that is when his contract expires after this season, or when he inevitably
03:28retires in the next few years?
03:31Team owner Jorge Mas told Forbes last year that he's quote, highly confident Messi will
03:36return for 2026, when Inter Miami is slated to move into a 25,000-seat stadium as part
03:43of the $1 billion Miami Freedom Park project.
03:46But just in case, the club is solidifying its financial foundation by locking down sponsorships
03:52and luxury suite commitments in contracts that run for as long as a decade.
03:57There is precedent in MLS for revenue to slide backward after a star's departure, however,
04:02such as when David Beckham left the LA Galaxy in 2012.
04:05Ultimately, if Inter Miami and the rest of MLS' clubs are going to justify their soaring
04:10valuations and get firmly into the black, with 16 teams still operating at a loss according
04:16to Forbes estimates, the league will need to start buttressing against that sort of
04:20variance by generating real revenue at the national level.
04:24There are tailwinds ahead that could help.
04:26The World Cup is being played on American soil in 2026.
04:32For full coverage, check out Justin Birnbaum's piece on Forbes.com.
04:38This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:40Thanks for tuning in.
04:46For more information, visit www.forbes.com.