Lionel Messi just beat Michael Jordan in a poll. Not on the court — in the minds of 1,000 UK-based fans of American sport, the Inter Miami forward came out on top as the greatest icon in US sports history. Jordan and Tom Brady followed, but neither could dislodge a man who only arrived in Florida in July 2023.
That's a remarkable result. Jordan built his legend over decades. Brady won seven Super Bowls. Messi has been in America for less than two years and already outranks both of them in British eyes. It says less about what Messi hasn't done in the US and more about the weight he carries globally — a reputation so vast it doesn't reset at the airport.
Why British fans are driving MLS interest
The survey, commissioned by fan engagement platform Chiliz, found that 85% of British fans said individual players were what first sparked their interest in US sports. That's the Messi effect in data form. It also explains why MLS (18%) came within a single percentage point of the NFL (19%) as the most-followed US league among UK fans — something that would have been unthinkable before his move to Miami.
David Beckham also featured in the top 30, which is fitting given he's now an MLS owner. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Shaquille O'Neal filled out a list that skews heavily toward personalities over franchises.
That personality-first dynamic has real consequences. Forty-three percent of fans admitted they would switch the team they support if their favourite player left — jumping to 77% among 18 to 24-year-olds. In other words, younger British fans aren't building lifelong attachments to the Chiefs or the Lakers. They're following Messi, and when Messi moves, they move too. Anyone pricing Inter Miami's MLS Cup odds should keep that fanbase loyalty — and its limits — in mind.
The barriers haven't gone away
Despite the enthusiasm, half of UK fans cite time zones as their biggest obstacle to following US sport, with subscription fees a problem for 32%. YouTube (60%), Instagram (39%), and X (38%) are where most engagement actually happens — live TV is still the preference for 61%, but short-form content is closing the gap fast at 51%.
More than two thirds of fans have already made the trip to the States for a live NFL or NBA game, with a further 23% planning to. The appetite is clearly there. The infrastructure to convert casual interest into committed fandom — across time zones, paywalls, and fractured streaming rights — is still catching up.
As Chiliz CEO Alexander Dreyfus put it: "Fans are the creators of value in sport, an industry that is moving towards a $1 Trillion valuation." Whether leagues can build on the Messi window before it closes is the real question.
