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Lionel Messi’s red-hot start for Inter Miami is doing more than moving the needle for the Leagues Cup viewership numbers.

Never mind that Miami entered the month-long Leagues Cup break mired in dead last in Major League soccer with a 5-14-3 record and 18 points. With Messi’s Major League Soccer debut still more than three weeks away, his new team’s odds of winning the MLS title are now among the top half of the league at most sportsbooks.

That includes at DraftKings, where Miami is now being offered at +1600 to win the MLS Cup. That’s ninth among the 29 MLS teams.

Their odds at BetMGM are a big longer at +1900, but that’s down significantly from +3300 before Messi’s debut.

That’s when the Argentinian superstar netted a last-second, free-kick goal to lift Miami to a 2-1 win over Cruz Azul on Friday in the team’s League’s Cup Opener. After that match, Miami’s MLS Cup odds shortened to +2500 at BetMGM.

Messi then scored a pair of goal’s in Miami’s 4-0 shutout over Atlanta United on Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Again, still with Messi yet to take the field in an MLS game, Miami’s odds shortened further to +1900, also the ninth-shortest among all teams.

BetMGM also reported that Miami now leads the league with 24.1 percent of the total bets placed on the MLS Cup winner and 30.0 percent of the total money. That makes Miami the book’s biggest liability, ahead of current Cup favorite FC Cincinnati, who have drawn 19.1 and 18.3 percent of the action, respectively, with their odds at +400.

Cincinnati leads MLS with 51 points — almost three times as many as Miami.

More important to Miami currently is the 30-point mark that DC United sit at, which is currently the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Miami will return to MLS action with a home game against Charlotte FC on Aug. 20.

However, the immediate focus is on the Leagues Cup, where Miami has already clinched a spot in the round of 32.

–Field Level Media