FC Dallas president Dan Hunt has likened Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi to NBA legend Michael Jordan ahead of the new MLS season.

The 36-year-old attacker joined the Florida franchise in one of the biggest deals in the history of soccer, with Messi transforming the entire landscape of the sport in the United States forever.

Ahead of the new MLS season, Messi and Inter Miami are strong favorites for virtually every trophy out there, and rival officials now think that the Argentine is at a greater peak than Jordan during his Chicago Bulls heyday.

Hunt told Dallas News about Messi playing for Inter Miami right now: “This is like seeing Michael Jordan at his greatest. This is Lionel Messi still at his greatest because he won a World Cup recently, right?

“I mean, this is a guy who is the best in the game. But yeah, people have this opportunity to pay and see it because you don’t know when it will stop and you should enjoy it because these are lifetime memories.

“I hope that all this inspires generations of players, and eventually, the United States will produce players who are considered the best in the world. I don’t know if that’s going to be tomorrow or in 30 years, but you hope we have that moment. My biggest hope is that we produce superstars on the heels of this.”

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi being compared to Michael Jordan is accurate

Few athletes transcend the sport they play, with Jordan arguably the biggest sports personality in the 1990s as the NBA superstar became a household name across the world.

And Messi has been no different in the last 15 years, with the Argentine international arguably the greatest soccer player to ever live and achieving everything possible in the game.

Which is why comparisons to Jordan are more than accurate, with the Chicago Bulls icon considered the greatest basketball player of all time, much like Messi is in soccer.

Whilst the forward might not be at the complete peak of his powers at Inter Miami, Messi is still one of the best players in the world, and MLS could be in for a rude awakening this year.