The Academy Award-winning superstar is one of a number of high-profile celebrities with an invested interest in MLS, with McConaughey one of the key figures behind bringing soccer to Austin in 2021.

With the Texan franchise one of the best supported in the country, there’s a real appeal to international players in choosing to join Los Verdes’, especially with a name as big as McConaughey attached to the club.

Matthew McConaughey jokes that Lionel Messi should join Austin FC

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And speaking to Men in Blazers, McConaughey joked that Messi should quit Inter Miami to join Austin, with the Argentine superstar changing the dynamic of MLS for the better in the last eight months.

The reigning Ballon d’Or winner has brought the popularity of MLS to all-new heights heading into the 2024 season, and McConaughey is pleased to see how Messi is changing the landscape of soccer in the United States.

The True Detective star said about Messi: “The Messi effect of coming over, Messi was must-watch TV, and that brought over even intermediate fans who weren’t even watching MLS going ‘I know Messi, let me go see what this guy does, let me see him play his instrument.’

“His rise has been the whole league’s rise. Would I like to have him on our team [Austin FC]? You’re damn right, Lionel, you been to Austin? Come swing by.”

Lionel Messi’s impact at MLS and Inter Miami cannot be understated

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For all the Hollywood A-listers and celebrities that are now associated with MLS, the thing that will ultimately bring more fans to games will be who is out on the pitch, and you don’t get bigger than Messi.

The Argentine international is arguably the greatest to ever play the game, and Inter Miami signing the 36-year-old has changed the entire landscape of soccer forever in the United States.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup creeping up, Messi’s impact will transform the sport for the better in America, and Inter Miami’s role in making this happen cannot be understated.