Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Tuesday, February 25th.

Today on Forbes, the most valuable MLS teams 2025.

Moments after the Super Bowl ended earlier this month,

Leonel Messi appeared on television screens across America alongside a message,

teasing the start of Major League Soccer's 30th season,

which kicked off this past weekend, the Apple TV advertisement after the Super Bowl read,

quote, When football ends, football begins. It's no surprise Messi was front and center in the

league's marketing. Beyond leading Inter-Miamy to an MLS record 74 regular season points last year

and collecting MVP honors, the 37-year-old Argentine superstar is the financial engine

supercharging his club's growth, to a league leading $180 million in revenue and $50 million in operating income in 2024,

according to Forbes' estimates.

The Messi effect has rippled across the rest of MLS as well.

The league has more than doubled its subscriber count on Apple TV since he jumped from Paris-San

in 2023, and it saw a 13% bump in sponsorship revenue

in 2024 to $665 million, according to research firm, sponsor United.

And any club lucky enough to host Messi for a match, such as Sporting Kansas City, which moved

its April 2024 match against Inter-Miamy

to Arrowhead Stadium and ended up with club record attendance of 72,610, can expect a massive

gate revenue increase. But while the rising tide is lifting the whole league to an average

value of $690 million, up 121% since 2019.

It hasn't yet produced a change at the front of the fleet.

For the third straight year, LAFC is MLS's most valuable team, worth an estimated $1.25

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