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Sports retailers and merchandise manufacturers have been struggling to keep up with the demand for Inter Miami gear ahead of Lionel Messi's debut with the team, according to a report by Front Office Sports. The overwhelming demand has encompassed Messi's Inter Miami jersey as well as all existing stock of Inter Miami merchandise.

The brunt of the stress has fallen upon sportswear manufacturer Adidas, who has sped up the process of manufacturing Messi jerseys to three months compared to the usual six months it takes to manufacturer a jersey and send it to market. On the market side of the equation, retailer Sports Endeavors allegedly sold out of six months' worth of Inter Miami merchandise in 24 hours, including blank jerseys.

Billy Lalor, Sports Endeavors' senior director of merchandising, estimated that the demand for Inter Miami merchandise on soccer.com is 25 times greater than it would have been had Messi not joined the franchise. The overwhelming demand forced the company to have to scramble to acquire more merchandise with a quick turnaround.

The extreme demand for Messi gear illustrates just how much he has moved the merchandising needle for both Inter Miami and all MLS teams, as it is anticipated that Messi's move to Inter Miami will pay off for retailers in the long run even though Europe's Big Five usually drives the most sales.

"This will surely have a positive effect on our bottom line," Lalor told Front Office Sports. "We will lose some sales from his former team, Paris Saint-Germain, but those will be more than offset by the increases in sales of Inter Miami and all MLS teams. Our margins on all of these products are similar, so the bottom-line increase comes from the top-line sales increase."

Messi's debut with Inter Miami will come Friday night in a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul.