Infantino's Club World Cup 'big bang' starts half-heartedly at Messi's house.

It wasn't even nine in the morning, and the sun was scorching the Inter Miami sports complex, but Mariana was shivering on the sidewalk. After months of studying, she had gotten Leo Messi to stop his car at the entrance and sign an Argentina jersey for her. "I'm shaking," he said. There had been many visits to the place, taking advantage of her trips from Tucumán to Miami, where she works as a graphic designer for various clients. She knows Messi arrives every day between 8:35 and 8:40, but that's not enough. Sometimes he doesn't stop. Sometimes he stops with a group of fans a little farther away, other times a little closer. "I was about to get on my knees in the middle of the street..." she says. But it wasn't necessary. Because precisely this Friday, the eve of the opening match of the Club World Cup, with a prize pool of $1 billion, no one was expecting Messi, one of its main attractions, who will host the opening match against Al-Ahly today (2:00 a.m. Sunday in Spain, DAZN and Telecinco). Only Mariana.

Of all possible places, the latest creation of the football industry begins at the Hard Rock Stadium, located in Miami-Dade County, the only US city where more than half of the population was born outside the country (54.3%). Although the wave of protests against Donald Trump's immigration policies has yet to reach the city where Messi is hosting, designated by Gianni Infantino, who predicted on Thursday that his World Cup would be a " big bang " for football, FIFA distributed 31 of the 32 spots in the new tournament based on merit in recent years in continental competitions across the six confederations. Except for the spot reserved for a team from the host country.

Inter Miami didn't even win the last league title. But FIFA determined they had completed the most consistent season, winning the League Cup in 2023 and the Supporters' Shield in 2024. But above all: they had Messi, who since his arrival in 2023 has boosted interest in football in a country that will host a World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada in less than a year. "Everyone knows what Leo generates," explained Luis Suárez, a teammate at Barça and now in Miami, this Friday. "People want to see the best in the world."

However, in this Club World Cup still imminent, not even he has been able to ignite the magic Infantino had anticipated, which has previously seduced clubs and players. FIFA has been maneuvering for weeks to avoid the uncomfortable image of thousands of empty seats at the opening match, where the cheapest tickets cost $349 (€302) in December and were already $55 (€47) this week. But even so, thousands remained to be sold, and according to The Athletic , FIFA offered something almost irresistible to the 100,000 students at Miami Dade College, with whom it has had a year-long agreement: tickets for $4 (€3.50). A student can buy a ticket for €20 and use it to invite four other people.

Not many matches in this first group stage are safe, according to the prices set by FIFA's dynamic system. Almost only Real Madrid's matches are: the cheapest tickets for their opening game on the 18th against Al-Hilal, also at the Hard Rock Hotel, were priced at $225 (€195) on the official website this Friday.

Club interest, fueled by the prize money, sparked earlier than that of fans, and they made the most of the extra transfer window open from June 1 to 10. Manchester City spent almost 150 million on Cherki, Reijnders, Ait-Nouri, and Bettinelli; Chelsea spent around 115 million on Penders, Sarr, Essugo, and Delap; Juve spent more than 70 million on Kalulu, Rugani, Kostic, and Kelly; Real Madrid spent 59 million on Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as well as Xabi Alonso; and Borussia Dortmund spent 36 million to bring Jobe, the youngest of the Bellingham brothers, to the tournament.

Clubs moved, and so did some players, choosing their destinations with this new showcase in mind. Sergio Ramos moved to Mexico to compete in the tournament with Rayados de Monterrey . James Rodríguez chose the same country for the same reason, but the move backfired: FIFA removed León from the championship because it shared ownership with Pachuca.

The team lineup reflects the diversity of world football more than the selection of the strongest teams. In the bookmakers' rankings of favorites, led by Real Madrid and PSG, the first non-European team, Flamengo, doesn't appear until tenth place. Last among them is Auckland, a team of amateur footballers who study or work in addition to playing. They are the furthest thing from giants like Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, City, or PSG, who have stars like Mbappé, Vinicius, Julián Alvarez, Griezmann, Haaland, Dembélé, Doué, and even the latest Ballon d'Or winner, Rodri, ready to play again after his serious knee injury.

For the public, the tournament was born with the obvious handicap of being new, and it also emerged in an ultra-saturated football environment. FIFA maneuvered to reduce this obstacle. The tournament will be available to watch for free worldwide online on DAZN, an extraordinary departure from the traditional market-by-market model of audiovisual rights marketing. It has also introduced new features in the broadcasting, such as the point-of-view camera worn by the referees, live VAR monitoring of the deliberations, and an improved semi-automatic offside system, powered by artificial intelligence and a sensor in the ball. FIFA has put everything it can into trying to make its new invention the big bang Infantino envisions, beyond the billion-dollar prize money.