LOS ANGELES
\nLionel Messi has been named Time magazine\u2019s \u201cAthlete of the Year\u201d for 2023 after a trailblazing season marked by an eighth Ballon d\u2019Or award and his ground-breaking move to Major League Soccer\u2019s Inter Miami.
\nTime said the Argentine superstar had already had a transformative impact on the American sporting landscape, which has been historically slow to embrace football.
\n\u201cLionel Messi this year managed to do what once seemed impossible, when he signed with Inter Miami: turning the US into a soccer country,\u201d Time commented.
\nThe 36-year-old Messi made his debut for Miami in July following an acrimonious departure from Paris Saint-Germain.
\nThe World Cup-winner also rebuffed a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia in favour of a new chapter in MLS.
\nThe eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner made an instant impact on Miami\u2019s fortunes, playing a pivotal role in helping the team win the expanded Leagues Cup, a cross-border competition for teams from MLS and Mexico\u2019s top flight.
\nMessi finished the campaign with 11 goals in 14 appearances across all competitions, but an injury towards the end of the season meant he was unable to help Miami force their way into the playoffs.
\nMessi was quoted by Time as saying that his first preference after PSG had been a fairytale return to Barcelona, but that move stalled over the club\u2019s finances.
\n\u201cI tried to return, and it did not happen,\u201d Messi said, adding that he was also \u201cthinking a lot\u201d about joining the wave of overseas players who have headed to the Saudi Pro League.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was Saudi Arabia or MLS, and both options seemed very interesting to me,\u201d Messi told the magazine.<\/p>\n
Time said Messi\u2019s arrival had driven a surge in attendances, ticket prices, merchandise sales and viewership, revealing that on the day of his debut, subscriptions to Apple TV \u2013 which retains exclusive rights to MLS \u2013 had jumped by 110,000, a 1,700% increase over the previous day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOS ANGELES Lionel Messi has been named Time magazine\u2019s \u201cAthlete of the Year\u201d for 2023 after a trailblazing season marked by an eighth Ballon d\u2019Or award and his ground-breaking move to Major League Soccer\u2019s Inter Miami. Time said the Argentine superstar had already had a transformative impact on the American sporting landscape, which has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-372826","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n