[Source: Reuters]

Lionel Messi’s arrival in the U.S. this year helped Major League Soccer shatter attendance records at home while elevating its profile abroad, commissioner Don Garber told Reuters.

After leading Argentina to a World Cup triumph last December, Messi sent North American ticket prices into the stratosphere when he spurned a lucrative offer from Saudi side Al-Hilal to join last-place Inter Miami.

He made an immediate impact, scoring a jaw-dropping game-winning goal in his July debut and Messi mania went into overdrive as he racked up 10 goals in seven Leagues Cup matches to lead the club to their first trophy.

MLS, which wraps up its season with the MLS Cup on Saturday, enjoyed its biggest audiences ever, with nearly 11 million fans attending matches, about a 5% increase year over year, Morning Consult said in a report released Friday.

Messi’s splashy arrival especially helped boost the league’s popularity among the coveted millennial audience, making it the seventh fastest growing brand among the group, the research firm said.

Garber said he was also “very pleased” with the first year of the 10-year, $2.5 billion global media rights deal with Apple, a sentiment echoed by Apple CEO Tim Cook on a recent earnings call.

Garber said he has “every expectation” that the 36-year-old Messi will stay in MLS for the remainder of his contract, which runs through the 2025 season.

MLS will now get to work on luring more stars by leveraging the league’s unique structure, where all of the teams are owned by MLS itself and profits are shared at various percentages among the clubs.

That structure allowed owners to allot a percentage of revenue from subscriptions to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV to Messi, a key reason he signed.

MLS will now get to work on luring more stars by leveraging the league’s unique structure, where all of the teams are owned by MLS itself and profits are shared at various percentages among the clubs.

That structure allowed owners to allot a percentage of revenue from subscriptions to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV to Messi, a key reason he signed.