With Lionel Messi coming to MLS, Atlanta soccer fans plan for Sept. 16

Caption

Lionel Messi playing for Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Credit: Hossein Zohrevand / Wikimedia Commons

The decision by Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi to play for Major League Soccer's Inter Miami has excited American fans, including those in Georgia.

GPB News' Orlando Montoya spoke with Jon Nelson of GPB Sports about this development and other soccer news of interest to Georgia.

TRANSCRIPT:

Montoya: Jon, just how much is this a shock around the soccer world?

Nelson: Oh, it's seismic. Absolutely seismic. When you have one of the greatest players in the history of the game who is trying to determine if his suitor is going to come from Saudi Arabia for the tune of a contract of $1.2 billion; from Barcelona, where he's had all of his pass past successes, you know, part of the academy ever since he was young, but they can't afford to pay your salary or mine right now; and then Inter Miami comes in from lane number three and is like, 'Yeah, we'd like for you to be the new part of our growth in Major League Soccer.' This is HUGE. And I can't put that in larger letters, more bold or italic font or face this is that big.

Montoya: And will soccer ticket prices get huge too?

Nelson: Yes, they already are. If you wanted to, say, travel to see Lionel Messi, perhaps play in Fort Lauderdale at a home game, you had ticket prices expand by at least four times, if not that much. And any market that is anticipating a Lionel Messi appearance, you can go on secondary markets and the prices have just gone absolutely through the roof. Atlanta is no exception.

Montoya: When will soccer fans in Atlanta be able to see Messi?

Nelson: September 16 is the date that you need to circle on your calendar. Reserve the entire weekend to celebrate it: Atlanta United, Inter Miami, Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And they have opened up the entire building. 71,000 are anticipated for this one.

Montoya: I'd like to ask you about some other good news for soccer fans here, changing subject just a little bit. The World Cup decided to play more games in 2026. What are the details on that and how will that affect Atlanta.

Nelson: When FIFA decided to expand the field, naturally one of the byproducts is that you're going to have more nations and therefore you're going to have more matches. And so it's a byproduct of allowing more teams the chance to participate in the world championship tournament. And when you're talking about Atlanta — Atlanta is one of the venues. You can follow along to the World Cup 2026 Atlanta feed on Instagram or on social media and you get all the pretty pictures and the logos and everything. I don't quite know how many matches Atlanta is going to get yet. But you're going to get grass at Mercedes-Benz Stadium because of it, as a byproduct for player safety and such. And they're going to figure out how to grow it inside. So it'll be interesting to see that as well. In the next coming years, we'll know just how the layout is. But Atlanta is a part of the mix.

Montoya: And with Atlanta United itself, what's happening with some of the team's star players? We lost Josef Martinez to Inter Miami and now I hear others might be going.

Nelson: Yeah, Luis Araujo, it's been determined that when the transfer window opens, he is going home. He is going to play in Flamengo FC in Brazil. And the transfer fee was eight figures to the left of the decimal place. And it gives Luis a chance to go home and be there in a comfortable environment where hopefully he can flourish for a team like Flamengo. Keep an eye on Thiago Almada. I know a lot of folks are looking at Thiago being transferred to play his next round of matches in Europe. $35 million to $40 million is what's being thought of as a transfer fee. But it will be interesting to see when this first transfer window opens just how many players are being looked at around the world, how many go, how many stay, what's the negotiations, what's the price tags and where Atlanta United goes from here. It should be a very exciting summer on a bunch of different levels.

Montoya: Jon Nelson of GPB Sports, thanks for all the soccer.

Nelson: Any time, my friend.