By EFE
Feb 23, 2024, 12:06 PM EST
MLS 2024 returns to the rhythm of Lionel Messi. The ‘playlist’ that the Argentine listens to in the warm-up premiered exclusively on Apple Music. It is among the top-40 most listened to on the platform. La Pulga changes the perception of the MLS. Xherdan Shaqiri and other soccer stars tell EFE how the impact of the number 10 is experienced from within.
“Music calms my mind, helps me be calm and relaxed.“, says Messi in his ‘playlist’. Latin pop, reggae, rock and Argentine cumbia are his favorite genres. From AC/DC to Coldplay, passing through Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Maluma or Rosalíathe Argentine shared the 60 songs that marked the most important moments of his career on the occasion of the start of the MLS.
This ‘playlist’ is part of a series of projects from Apple TV, owner of the MLS rights with a contract ten years in force from 2023, to take advantage of Messi’s enormous impact. After the docuseries ‘Messi meets America’, prepared for the arrival of the Argentine to ‘soccer’, Apple launched new special content last Wednesday, ‘Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend’to celebrate their World Cup win in Qatar.
Inter Miami debuted on Wednesday in the new MLS season with 2-0 victory against Real Salt Lake. Messi started alongside the Uruguayan Luis Suárez. His presence attracts new sponsors on an almost weekly basis. The JP Morgan Chase bank has just signed an agreement to give its name to the club’s stadium. Messi’s documentaries are sweeping Apple TV and the popularity of the MLS is skyrocketing.
A change of perception
The global perception of MLS changed after Messi’s arrival. Apple TV data reflects this and international stars of the league such as the Swiss Xherdan Shaqiri, among others, confirm this to EFE.
“We all saw how great Messi’s arrival to the league was. Around the world we saw that people follow the MLS much more. And I also see more and more South American players who want to come to this football before making the leap to Europe“Shaqiri, a European champion with Liverpool and now designated player for the Chicago Fire, told EFE.
Xherdan Shaqiri was very comfortable with his 10th goal after a year in Major League Soccer. The kind you rehearse 800 times and only get one.
🎥 @MLSpic.twitter.com/w9k8E5gARB
— Manu Heredia (@ManuHeredia21) July 13, 2023
The Swiss, who also played for Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in his European career, acknowledged that Several soccer friends contact him to find out about the American league.
One of the Latinos who followed the path from the Argentine league to the American one was Fede Navarro, midfielder trained at Talleres Córdoba who came to the MLS with the Fire. In conversation with EFE, the Argentine said that “where Leo arrives everything is revolutionized” and that the presence of the world champion in the United States league “benefits everyone.”
MLS goals, in ‘8K 3D’
Among the new features prepared by Apple is an unprecedented experience in Apple Vision Prothe mixed reality glasses from the Californian house, which will allow you to see the goals of the 2024 ‘playoffs’ in 8K 3D qualitywith a field of view of 180 degrees and spatial audio.
This is an unprecedented product that will be released soon, as reported by Apple at a meeting to present the new season in which EFE participated.
The MLS Season Pass, which saw record subscription numbers last summer when Messi’s arrival in Miami was announced, returns this year with an ultra-modern platform in English, Spanish and Frenchwhich makes navigation easier for users.
In particular, the new system added special content such as stories, analysis and several ‘Best of’ focused on the best plays of the league’s stars.
The ten-year contract signed in 2022 between Apple and MLS is unique worldwide and brings soccer matches to all five continents, without limitations, with 6,000 different contents annually.
In 2023, MLS Season Pass streamed 1,000 gamesbetween MLS, Leagues Cup, youth and friendly matches, and carried out 500 analysis programs in New York with 500 workers. The television also hired about 100 analysts and commentatorsmany of them former soccer players, for both English and Spanish broadcasts.
Keep reading:
· Ricardo Ferretti remembers his fall against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami
· Lionel Messi and his musical preferences before playing each match
· Santiago Giménez was tempted by the MLS
· Carlos Vela would return to Los Angeles FC