Inter Miami shocks Messi's fans

Baghdad-INA

The management of the American club Inter Miami is facing a wave of anger from the fans, after increasing the prices of season tickets for the next season, although following the Argentine Lionel Messi, the team’s star, is still tempting many.

The club, owned by businessman Jorge Mas and former English football star David Beckham, sent emails to fans last Thursday containing details of ticket renewal prices.

The cheapest ticket for this season was $485, but with Messi’s presence it rose to $884 for the place behind the goal in the team’s 17 home matches, meaning $52 per match.

As for the seats that provide a wider view, close to the midfield line, their price increased from $3,600 to $7,650, and there is a similar increase in most of the expensive seats.

In Europe, the cheapest season ticket to watch Manchester City in the Champions League is $469, while the highest price is $1,256, noting that hospitality offers are separate from season tickets.

It is noteworthy that season ticket holders were protected this season from the huge increase in single-match tickets for Miami, after the flea arrived in July from French club Paris Saint-Germain.

Inter Miami is only playing its fourth season after its founding, while fans are expressing their annoyance at the ticket crisis, after years of waiting for a club to appear that represents them at the first level.

Ed Serrano, a big fan, said: "This is crazy. I expected it to go up, but at a maximum of 50%. These people are just thinking about making money and the demand is high, so they expect they will get away."

He continued, “Maybe they are looking for only the elite to attend the matches and ignore the rest. They will lose if they continue with this mentality.”