"Never seen this much hype" - Portuguese Youtuber claims Lionel Messi's MLS stint is helping him catch up to Cristiano Ronaldo's off-field influence

Lionel Messi is rapidly catching up to Cristiano Ronaldo's off-field influence following his switch to the MLS on a a free transfer this summer. That's the claim made by established Portuguese YouTuber with the channel name, MoreAA9Skillz.

It goes without saying that Messi has become a household name in America after joining Inter Miami from Paris Saint-Germain in July. The Argentine has had an instant impact, scoring and creating goals for fun while leading his team to claim victories game after game.

Thanks to his impact, the world is now more interested in watching the MLS than ever. MoreAA9Skillz reckons these exploits are helping Messi catch up with his eternal rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Wayne Rooney's been here David Beckham's been here, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been here I've never seen this much hype in the MLS man," the Portuguese YouTuber said in a video posted on his channel.

"Messi is having a massive influence on American football AKA soccer AKA American soccer, whatever you want to call it. It is amazing to see because maybe Ronaldo is the most influential person in sports, but the influence that Messi's having in America right now is starting to catch him up to Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to influence."

He continued:

"Not on the field you guys already know what it is on the field I'm talking about strictly like influence. He was already huge in America. He's starting to really dig up his brand, yo I'm telling you man. Messi's gonna become so popular from playing in the USA because of how much people in the US say that are gonna end up starting to follow this guy.

"There's a massive amount of hype in the MLS right now for this guy. The games that he's playing in are all lit and more people are going to continue to watch it," he added.

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue winning outside Europe

Lionel Messi in action for Inter Miami

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both bid farewell to European football this year. It's quite incredible how they've still kept their names on the lips of fans by continuing their winning culture at their new clubs.

The Portuguese led Al Nassr to win the Arab Club Champions Cup, where he claimed the Golden Boot with six goals in as many games, including two in the final against Al Hilal.

His Argentine counterpart, Messi, meanwhile, inspired Inter Miami to their first trophy, beating Nashville in a shootout to win the Leagues Cup. Messi ended up picking up both the top scorer and the Player of the Tournament award, courtesy of his 10 goals and one assist in seven games.

Lionel Messi has also fired the Miamians into the US Open Cup final, after inspiring them to another shootout triumph over Cincinnati this week. They take on Houston Dynamo in the final on September 27.