The stratospheric growth of Inter Miami's Instagram following in just 24 hours shows how much clout Lionel Messi has — and why the MLS is breaking the bank to sign him

• Lionel Messi announced Wednesday he's decided to sign for Inter Miami.
• The MLS team has seen its Instagram followers increase 390% since then.

Lionel Messi is already sending Inter Miami's profile into the stratosphere — and that's exactly why the MLS has put so much on the bargaining table.

The club has nearly quintupled its Instagram followers since Messi announced his decision. Before the announcement, the club had around one million followers on the platform. At the time of publication, it had more than five million.

A similar thing is happening with re-sale ticket prices, which have soared more than 1,000% for some matches, Insider reported.

And the soccer superstar is still yet to even put pen to paper on an MLS contract.

Messi told Mundo Deportivo: "I still haven't closed it one hundred percent," but "I made the decision that I'm going to go to Miami."

But it's not just Florida that will benefit, because Messi has fans from all over the world who'll be tuning in to watch.

There was plenty of skepticism when Apple and the MLS announced a streaming deal worth $2.5 billion over 10 years last June, because American soccer lacked the same stars that Europe has.

But the MLS Season Pass will surely get plenty of new subscribers now.

And according to The Athletic, the league is confident in that because the MLS and Apple have discussed giving Messi a share of the revenue generated by new sign-ups.

Nothing about Messi's Inter Miami deal is confirmed yet, but he did turn down a $429 million-a-year offer from Al Hilal in Saudia Arabia, per The Athletic.

He told Mundo Deportivo that choice was down to enjoying the last years of his career rather than earning more money.

But for MLS, it could be hugely profitable.