Seeing superstar soccer player Leo Messi’s debut in the New York area could cost you as much as a steak dinner at Peter Luger.
Saturday’s Inter Miami CF match marks Messi’s first regular season Major League Soccer game, and demand to see it is sending ticket prices nearly 1,000% higher than they usually are for the New York Red Bulls.
Ticket reseller VividSeats told CNN that the average price for this weekend’s game is averaging $483. That’s well above the usual $46 it costs to snag a ticket to the MLS team, which plays in Harrison, New Jersey (a half hour away from Manhattan).
A search on VividSeats reveals that some seats are costing as much as $3,600 for the first-row, but you have to buy all four, totaling nearly $15,000. Of course, there are plenty of cheaper seats, with some as “low” as $345.
For the New York Red Bulls, Messi’s appearance is “trending as the Red Bull’s hottest ticket in over a decade,” a VividSeats spokesperson told CNN. The second costliest game for a ticket was a friendly with FC Barcelona in July 2022, when a ticket cost about $270.
Prices for MLS games where Messi is playing have surged since the 36-year-old entered American competition. He’s also been on a hot streak since his American arrival last month. Last weekend, he helped Inter Miami capture the Leagues Cup title and scored the club’s first trophy. The Leagues Cup is an annual tournament between MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.
The pressure is only intensified for Messi this weekend, when Inter Miami tries to climb out of last place in the MLS standings and possibly into playoff contention as the season nears its ending in October.
“Messi mania” extends beyond the pitch, too. Apple said that subscriptions to its soccer streaming package have soared since Messi joined in July. And Adidas said that demand for Messi’s jersey has been “truly unprecedented,” sparking an order backlog until October.
Retailer Soccer.com told CNN on Tuesday that top eight-selling jerseys on its website are Messi related, including his Argentina kit and Inter Miami shirt. The Florida team is now the top-selling MLS club kit in all US states, except Vermont. Previous to him joining, the Inter Miami jersey was the only top-selling jersey in Florida.
The 2022 midterm elections are now just weeks away, and with control of both chambers of Congress and dozens of governorships, secretaries of state and attorneys general posts on the line, it’s important to know both how and when to vote in your state. To help you plan your vote, CNN has gathered the deadlines for early in-person voting, absentee/mail-in voting and for voter registration in each of the 50 states leading up to Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.
• Chinese leader Xi Jinping has formally stepped into his norm-breaking third term ruling China with an iron grip on power as he revealed a new leadership team today stacked with loyal allies.
• Hurricane Roslyn slammed into Mexico’s Pacific coast as a major Category 3 storm today, bringing dangerous storm surge and flooding to parts of the country, forecasters said.
• Boris Johnson is trying to win enough support to make what would be a stunning comeback as Britain’s prime minister, as senior Conservative politicians declared their support for former finance minister Rishi Sunak. The two men have become the early favorites to replace Liz Truss, who announced her resignation last week.
• Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner and co-founder of the sports drink company Red Bull, has died, the company announced Saturday. He was 78. As well as turning his energy drink into a market leader, the Austrian billionaire also founded one of the most successful Formula One teams in recent history.
• The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol announced on Friday that the panel has officially sent a subpoena to former President Donald Trump as it paints him as the central figure in the multi-step plan to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Monday
Opening statements are scheduled to begin in the sexual assault trial of disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein in Los Angeles. Weinstein, 70, was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape charges in New York more than two years ago and sentenced to 23 years in prison. In Los Angeles, Weinstein faces multiple sexual assault charges that he pleaded not guilty to last year.
A Moscow regional court has set October 25 as an appeal date for WNBA star Brittney Griner. Griner was sentenced to nine years of jail time in early August for deliberately smuggling drugs into Russia. She was arrested with less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on February 17.
In what has become one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country, Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman and Republican candidate Mehmet Oz will face each other in a televised debate in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Fetterman, who had a near-fatal stroke more than five months ago, has faced a number of questions about transparency surrounding his health and recovery. Fetterman’s primary care physician released a medical report earlier this month stating that the candidate is “recovering well from his stroke” and “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”
Wednesday
Hillary Clinton – former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee for President – turns 75.
In this week’s One Thing podcast, CNN Chief International Investigative Correspondent Nima Elbagir joins us from Northern Iraq, where some Iranian dissidents have fled a brutal crackdown in response to nationwide protests set off by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. We explore if these protests will bring lasting change and hear from one Iranian-Kurdish activist who is now taking up arms across the border. Listen here.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation in front of 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday, October 20.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, October 17. A wave of drone attacks pummeled the capital city early Monday as commuters headed to work.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
ended a 15-game losing streak against Alabama. They won 52-49 with a last second 40-yard field goal.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
Mississippi to record lows.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
20th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday, October 16. Xi is poised to secure a norm-breaking third term in power.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
as it splashes down off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday, October 14, with European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins. They are returning after 170 days aboard the International Space Station.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
James Webb Space Telescope. It shows a highly detailed view of the Pillars of Creation, a vista of three looming towers made of interstellar dust and gas that’s speckled with newly formed stars. The area, which lies within the Eagle Nebula about 6,500 light-years from Earth, had previously been captured by the Hubble Telescope in 1995, creating an image deemed “iconic” by space observers.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
found him not liable for battery on allegations he picked up actor Anthony Rapp and briefly laid on top of him in a bed after a party in 1986. Jurors deliberated for about an hour and concluded Rapp did not prove that Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate part” of him.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
warned it could take up to six months for the water to recede in the wake of the country’s “unprecedented” flooding.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
expelled from the United States on Monday, October 17.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
See last week in 32 photos.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
Check out more moving, fascinating and thought-provoking images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.
TV and streaming
The season finale of “House of the Dragon,” the “Game of Thrones” prequel that takes place almost 200 years before the events of its predecessor, airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. (HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
“The Good Nurse,” starring Oscar winners Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, tells the story of an infamous caregiver implicated in the deaths of hundreds of hospital patients. It begins streaming on Netflix Wednesday.
Four teams remain in the battle to reach the 2022 World Series, which begins on Friday. Later today, the San Diego Padres face the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. On Saturday, the Phillies beat the Padres to take a 3-1 lead in the series. The Houston Astros, meanwhile, play the New York Yankees tonight in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. Houston leads that series 3-0.
Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 66% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?
‘Beautiful’
A lot has changed about the world in the last 20 years, but Christina Aguilera still thinks you’re beautiful – despite what social media sometimes tells us. Watch the updated version of her “Beautiful” music video released last week that takes aim at the messages often delivered through social media that have negative effects on our body image and mental health. (Click here to view)
a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, October 17. A wave of drone attacks pummeled the capital city early Monday as commuters headed to work.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
ended a 15-game losing streak against Alabama. They won 52-49 with a last second 40-yard field goal.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
Mississippi to record lows.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
20th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday, October 16. Xi is poised to secure a norm-breaking third term in power.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
as it splashes down off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday, October 14, with European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins. They are returning after 170 days aboard the International Space Station.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
James Webb Space Telescope. It shows a highly detailed view of the 
found him not liable for battery on allegations he picked up actor Anthony Rapp and briefly laid on top of him in a bed after a party in 1986. Jurors deliberated for about an hour and concluded Rapp did not prove that Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate part” of him.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
warned it could take up to six months for the water to recede in the wake of the country’s 
expelled from the United States on Monday, October 17.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
deadly drone attacks.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>
See last week in 32 photos.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img”/>