Major League Soccer’s hottest new star is already paying off for Inter Miami.

The arrival of all-time soccer great Lionel Messi is expected to double the club’s revenue over the next 12 months, executive owner Jorge Mas said on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” The Argentina international and former Barcelona star joined Inter Miami on Monday.

Mas also said his team’s valuation could reach $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion next year. The most recent estimate by Forbes pegged Miami as the 11th most valuable MLS team at $600 million.

“When we got into the Inter Miami project, we really did it with the idea that we wanted to be the main platform for soccer in the United States,” Mas said.

He said the process of bringing Messi to Miami began in 2019 when he and co-owner David Beckham flew to Barcelona to meet Messi’s father.

“When does an athlete really have the opportunity to change the sport and I think that’s the opportunity that Messi has in front of him,” Mas said.

Mas said he is already seeing a huge “Messi effect” in all aspects commercially and in South Florida.

“It’s the only thing anyone talks about,” he added.

Messi’s jerseys are sold out and Adidas is constantly printing them, Mas said.

Sports e-commerce platform Fanatics told CNBC that Messi could set the record for the most shirts sold for a player to join a new team in any sport after 24 hours. Messi’s sales are on pace with the current record for first-day shirt sales set by Cristiano Ronaldo immediately following his move to Manchester United in 2021.

Ticket prices for Messi’s US debut on Friday are averaging nearly $1,300 on secondary ticketing platforms such as TicketIQ.

Mas said he hoped the buzz would help MLS grow to compete with Europe’s top leagues.

“I think it’s incumbent upon me and my partners at Major League Soccer and the other owners to seize the moment in front of us and hopefully over the next three to five years elevate Major League Soccer to compete with the Premier League. ” said Mas.