Lionel Messi Signing Causes Inter Miami Ticket Prices To Skyrocket

It's safe to say Lionel Messi is the Taylor Swift of soccer ... 'cause the Argentinian legend's move to Inter Miami has fans rushing to buy tickets to his games -- and they're selling for way above face value!!

Messi's shocking decision to come play in the U.S. after two years with Paris Saint-Germain resulted in a busy day for secondary market sellers ... with ticketing tech company Logitix telling TMZ Sports there were four times the amount of sales on Wednesday than the past 169 days combined.

We're told the average price for a home game seat has skyrocketed ... going from $15 to $230, a whopping 1,398% increase.

Inter Miami away games are even feeling the Messi effect ... increasing from $53 on average to $251, a 374% difference.

The Inter Miami ticket sitch is similar to what Swifties experienced when Taylor's 'Eras' tour started selling seats ... with some shelling out a LOT more than face value to check out the show.

Messi's contract with the MLS club reportedly includes an option to join team ownership, as well as a split of the profits from the Apple TV broadcasting deal ... but it was still surprising the World Cup hero turned down a rumored offer of more than a BILLION dollars to play in Saudi Arabia.