Lionel Messi moved to Inter Miami in the summer after his two-year deal with PSG was completed. The shocking move received worldwide attention throughout the summer as one of the biggest icons of the sport moved to America to take part in MLS. Apple, the official broadcasting partner of MLS, jumped at the opportunity to release a dedicated documentary on the biggest move in MLS history.
The docuseries, ‘Messi Meets America’ provides behind-the-scenes footage and details about Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami. It is a six-part series that documents the experience of Messi and his family as they transition into a new continent. The six episodes cover the transfer, the debut of Lionel Messi for the Miami side, and his contribution to Inter Miami in the second half of the MLS season.
How many episodes are in the Messi Meet America documentary?
There are six episodes in the docuseries. The first episode covers the arrival of Messi and his debut for Inter Miami. The second episode covers the signing of Jordi Alba by Inter Miami and the fullback’s impact on Messi and Co. ahead of tough fixtures against Orlando and FC Dallas.
The third episode covers the journey of Inter Miami and Messi to the Leagues Cup final by pointing the spotlight on the leadership of the Argentine legend. The fourth episode covers the MLS debut of Messi against the New York Red Bulls and a cross-country clash against defending champions LAFC.
Inter Miami confirm they have sold out season tickets for the 2024 season despite DOUBLING seat prices from last season.
Messi effect. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/bHoMY6z15j
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 30, 2023
Episode five covers Inter Miami’s race to qualification for MLS Cup playoffs while mitigating the injury of Lionel Messi. The sixth and final episode focuses on the last few fixtures of the regular season of Inter Miami. It also covers the overall impact of Messi’s arrival on MLS as a whole.
When was Messi Meets America released?
The docuseries was released on October 11, 2023. At first, only the first three episodes were released for binge-watch. The other three episodes were released in two parts to maintain the buzz around the series for a longer duration.
The series finale of #MessiMeetsAmerica is out now on #AppleTVPlus.
“One Epic Summer” (S1, E6)
“The club fight for a playoff spot as they wrap an unexpected and extraordinary season with Messi.” pic.twitter.com/D84LyYyLJu
— tv+news · all things tv+ (@ATVPlusNews) December 6, 2023
The fourth and fifth episodes were released together on November 1 while the finale of the series was released on December 6. All the episodes of the docuseries have been released, which allows fans to binge-watch the whole season together.
How to watch Messi Meets America?
Messi Meets America is available to stream on Apple’s streaming platform, Apple TV+. The streaming service has exclusive rights to the docuseries and is only available on this platform. The application, Apple TV+ is available on Apple TV on all smart devices. The list includes Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Amazon Fire Stick, Google Chromecast, Xbox and PlayStation 5.
Apple TV+ costs around $6.99 a month in the United States of America. There are a select few offers running on special occasions where Apple offers the first month of AppleTV+ free. This offer is available to its new users only.
Reception of Messi Meets America
The early reception of the first three episodes of the docuseries was underwhelming. Rolling Stones came out with an article to slam the docuseries as a marketing gimmick. The initial three episodes spent more time on Tata Martino, Inter Miami’s coach, rather than Lionel Messi.
The episodes lack analysis of the matches from Messi’s point of view, and the lack of B-rolls leaves fans underwhelmed. Some experts called Apple opportunistic to use Messi’s name to add more numbers to AppleTV+ by giving this half-baked series.
The initial backlash was for the first three episodes. Fans might change their opinion after the release of the finale and digesting the docuseries as a whole. The series might turn into seasonal offerings with a return with season two in the second season of Messi with Inter Miami. Every option is open as Apple looks to recoup its mammoth $2.5 billion investment in the broadcasting rights of MLS.