Miami Mayor Francis Suarez raffling Lionel Messi debut tickets for campaign donations

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has drawn up soccer superstar Lionel Messi’s first set piece.

The flashy 2024 Republican presidential candidate will hand out tickets to the Argentinian’s hotly anticipated debut with Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami to a few lucky campaign contributors.

Suarez — whose campaign has been hampered by claims of questionable self-enrichment while in office — touted the offer during a speech at the conservative Turning Point USA group’s annual convention over the weekend.

“We are doing some gimmicks like a lot of other candidates.” he told the audience. “Particularly since I just got in, three weeks ago, into the race. I don’t know if you guys have heard of this person, Lionel Messi?”

Suarez then laid out the arrangement, telling the crowd to Venmo his campaign as little as a dollar to become eligible for front row seats to Messi’s debut, set for Friday night against Mexican club Cruz Azul.

Tickets for the match, part of the Leagues Cup tournament involving MLS and Liga MX clubs, are going for $5,000 on Ticketmaster, with prices topping $100,000 on the secondary market.

Elected Miami mayor in 2017, the popular Cuban-American has come under increased scrutiny for his non-municipal gigs — including a $10,000-a-month consulting position for a local developer with business before the city.

The Miami Herald reported that the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission are probing if the monies from Location Ventures to Suarez were paid in exchange for favorable treatment on a large scale Coconut Grove real estate development.

An attorney and private equity executive, Suarez has seen his net worth soar during his time in office, according to disclosure forms.

Suarez had compiled around $300,000 as he entered office — a figure that has since increased to more than $3 million.

Unlike most cities, the Miami mayoralty is a part-time position that allows for side jobs. The post does not govern services like the police department and garbage collection or oversee the city budget.

Suarez is able to nominate and terminate the city manager and has veto power over legislation, but the city commission can override the latter power.

The son of Cuban exiles has openly embraced the latitude and leverage afforded by his job, marketing Miami as a global tech and cryptocurrency hub and overseeing an unprecedented business and real estate boom.

But some critics assert that Suarez is blurring the lines between municipal and personal priorities.

His office recently pushed back on accusations that billionaire Citadel boss Ken Griffin gave him and his wife access to a glitzy Formula 1 event worth more than $30,000.

The Herald asserted that the couple were initially told the junket was on the house — but Suarez’s office later insisted that he footed the bill for the festivities.

Suarez, who told the Turning Point audience that he had the requisite skills to become president while extolling a conservative platform, recently revealed that he had raised more than $13 million towards his long shot campaign.

The native Floridian, who makes $130,000 as Miami mayor, is scrambling to attract the 40,000 unique donors required to participate in next month’s first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee.

The son of former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez, he was first elected to the Miami City Commission in 2009. He left that post after winning the mayoralty in 2017 and earned re-election in 2021 with 78% of the vote.