The arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami has turned the fortunes of the newly established MLS club both on and off the pitch.

According to the numbers put together by SafeBettingSites.com, Inter Miami has amassed 19.9m followers on popular social media platforms to become the most famous club in MLS. And by a distance.

The David Beckham-owned club has eclipsed all other MLS sides when it comes to popularity on social media. The club’s rising popularity on social media can be attributed to superstar Lionel Messi’s arrival. 

As per the data, Inter Miami has a total of 19.9m combined followers on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. In comparison, LA Galaxy, the second most popular MLS club on social media, has just 4.64m followers on the same platforms. In fact, most MLS clubs don’t even have a combined million followers on their social media accounts.

New York City FC is the third most popular MLS club on social media, with a combined following of 3.36m. Atlanta United FC and Los Angeles FC complete the top five with 1.95m and 1.91m followers, respectively.

Seattle Sounders has been mainstay of MLS for some time and is the next popular club with 1.73m followers. It is followed by Orlando City with 1.48m followers. New York Red Bulls is yet another popular MLS side and it is next on the list with 1.43m followers. Toronto FC is the most popular Canadian MLS side on social media with a following of 1.15m. No other MLS side currently has a combined following of more than a million on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

When we look at individual platforms, Inter Miami is the most popular MLS side on all three major platforms. However, Inter’s major following count comes from Instagram. The Miami-based club is massively popular on Instagram and has 14.3. In comparison, LA Galaxy, the next most popular MLS club on Instagram, has just 1.5m followers. In fact, only two MLS sides have more than a million followers on Instagram.

The gulf between Inter and other MLS clubs is much smaller on Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook, Inter Miami has 4.6m followers, to be the most popular MLS side. LA Galaxy is the second most popular, with 2.6m followers. 

Inter Miami has amassed a million followers on Twitter/X. However, Atlanta United is giving close competition to Inter with an impressive following count of 995k.