Prince Harry and Hollywood celebrities called out after going to MLS game

05 September 2023 , 14:32

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Prince Harry watched along with Los Angeles FC co-owner Larry Berg as the team took on Lionel Messi's Inter Miami (Image: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

USMNT talisman and former Chelsea player Christian PuIisic has taken a cheeky swipe at the celebrities who turned out in force to see Lionel Messi in action against LAFC.

The crunch clash between Inter Miami and their MLS rivals saw an unprecedented turn out of A-List names descend on BMO Stadium. The star power of World Cup winner Messi has previously saw megastars including Kim Kardashian and LeBron James flock to see him in Florida.

However, the clamour to catch a glimpse of the former Barcelona hero in the flesh saw an estimated 39 well-known faces attend Vice City's away fixture in California - superstar actor Leonardo DiCaprio, singer and actor Selena Gomez and Prince Harry were among the attendees.

But with Messi mania now gripping Hollywood, USA's most prominent footballer has issued a cheeky dig at the celebrities in question, urging them to come along to USMNT games in the future.

The AC Milan attacker posted on his Instagram stories: "Let them know they're invited to US national team games too."

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Attendances at USMNT games dropped to its lowest average since 2006 last year, with 128,295 fans attending six matches. That totals 21,383 attendees per game during that period, which is the most paltry turnout since average the 20,360 sixteen years prior.

In fact, dismissing the downturn in spectators during Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020, that is still a drop of 15 per cent on the previous year. On top of this, those figures represented the eleventh-straight year that average attendances failed to reach over 40,000.

Selena Gomez attended the game between LAFC and Inter Miami (Twitter/ MLS/ Apple TV)

It is one of the idiosyncrasies of US soccer that MLS attendance figures are remarkably strong at the moment, by significant contrast. Numerous teams have seen major increases over the past 12 months, with Messi's Inter Miami recording an increase numbers of some 32.3 per cent in that time.

Other examples of a large surge include San Jose Earthquakes at 29.2 per cent, New York City FC with 24.1 per cent and Orlando City with 14.7% more fans. On top of this, FC Cincinnati have seen an uptake of 12.5 per cent, with FC Dallas adding 11.7 per cent and New England Revolution recording an increase of 10.1 per cent.

The El Trafico derby between LAFC and LA Galaxy also proved the draw of these two MLS franchises as the turnout broke a league record in July. In that instance, a massive 82,110 fans were present at the Rose Bowl as the Galaxy won the game 2-1.

Tom Beattie